


Beyond Time and Darkness

by Tracey216



Series: The Mystery Dungeon Chronicles [1]
Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Adventure, Explorers of Sky, Fantasy, No betas we die like tony stark, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - Freeform, anxiety main character, don't read if you want flirting because i have no clue how to write that, first work in the fandom, large order of lore with a side of platonic fluff, this is kind of like canon but a little to the left
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:20:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 78,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22379341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tracey216/pseuds/Tracey216
Summary: The Pokemon world has always been a peaceful land full of fun and adventures. The residents are happy, the landscape is stunning, and there is nothing to fear. Unfortunately, all that is about to change.Join Grace as she navigates the startling new world she is thrown into, discovers her allies new and older, and maybe even reawakens her lost past. But in this chapter of history, every second counts.A retelling of the fan-favorite story of Explorers of Sky with a few additional twists in store.
Series: The Mystery Dungeon Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610932
Comments: 23
Kudos: 16





	1. The Beach at Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3.3.20 edit- I redid a few bits in the first three chapters to make the beginning smoother. This scene didn't get too much of a change, just a time shift and a few lines that were fixed to be more in-character. If you are just popping in on a whim, make sure you go back and check out the first three chapters again. Thanks!

The 1st day of Long Sun, 3496

The rising sun painted the sky a pleasant baby blue as it rose from the east. The white sands of a reserved beach, tucked away between massive sets of crimson stone, had yet to see the sun’s rays.

Small waves rolled on the water’s surface, washing up a variety of small treasures along the shoreline. Today, even grander treasures than normal were open for picking after last night’s storm had tossed and turned the ocean into a raging fit. But the collection of tiny shells and small pebbles were far from the most exciting thing the waves delivered that morning.

A foreigner lay asleep on the sandy beach. Soon, she let out a quiet groan as she struggled back into consciousness. She opened her eyes a crack, squinting in the faint sunlight. Her mind felt heavy like her thoughts had been frozen in place. Her limbs felt the same, worn down from the exhaustion of some great struggle. There was a damp weight wrapped loosely around her neck. As the small waves prodded her into full wakefulness, she simply lay there unmoving, giving her mind a chance to thaw. 

The fog of drowsy confusion had not fully departed from her mind when she tried to stand. Her aching limbs threatened to give way, but those were nothing but empty promises. A small cloud of sand formed as she gave her pelt a quick shake. She opened her eyes a little more, trying to figure out the world around her. And she was glad she did.

As if to accent the gorgeous scene, a barrage of large bubbles floated lazily across the beach. Each held their own small replication of the sunrise like intricate little mirrors. It was a sight to behold. 

Then, one of the tiny mirrors drifted toward her. She grinned, chuckling softly as it attempted a light-hearted attack on her nose. When it popped, it sent a small shower of clean water splattered along her face. Another one drifted closed, and she batted at it with a paw.

Wait. Paws? She stared down at them, putting her pursuit of the bubbles on hold. Her auburn fur stuck out oddly in some spots. A pair of tails trailed behind her. Wet sand stuck fast to her dark pads. Her claws permanently stuck out, and they almost seemed a little too sharp. 

She turned back her ears, alarmed. A deep feeling in her gut warned her that something was off. A third bubble drifted closer. This time, she had different things on her mind as she peered into it. Sure enough, the reflection of a small, orange fox stared back, its blue and brown eyes mirroring her confusion and shock. 

This wasn’t how she looked before. She didn’t know how she knew that, but she did. But how did she used to look? Her paws fidgeted with the sand beneath her as she searched her mind for an answer. Nothing. 

What? How could she not remember her own appearance? That was just stupid. Did she just not have many mirrors in her childhood? She thought about this possibility too. And came up short of an answer again. But not just for the question. An icy terror began to set in as she realized something else. 

She couldn’t remember anything. Not her past, not her friends, not even how she ended up on this beach. She was lost, alone, and clueless.

The sound of sand shifting behind her pulled her attention away from her dilemma. A Shinx was walking across the beach a few yards away. His black and blue fur stuck out in several directions, hinting the aftermath of a tussle. She could have sworn she saw a hint of dried blood just below his nose. His bobbed tail, little more than a stub, twitched from side to side. Maybe he could help.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked over at her, daggers in his eyes. “What do you want?” He asked sharply. 

“Uh-nothing! Nothing really,” She stammered, dropping her gaze. Shit, okay, he clearly wasn’t in any mood to deal with a clueless nobody like her. Maybe it would be best to leave him alone. But what if this was actually a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and he was the only living thing in a hundred-mile radius? If that was the case, she had no choice but to try and get back on his good side. But how was she going to do that? 

It was then that she noticed his necklace. It was simply a few pieces of dark string, holding a duo of small treasures. The first was a relatively large fang, capped with a bit of gold. The artifact below it, on the other hand, was a little more eye-catching. It was a small grey stone, but one of the sides was flattened and held an intricate white pattern. 

“I, um, like your necklace.” Perhaps a compliment would help the situation. 

The fur along his back began to stand. “You gonna try to steal it too?” His words were woven within a low growl.

She took a step back as if his tone had knocked her in the face. “What no! I was just giving you a compliment, that’s all.” 

He let out a small disgruntled huff and turned away, briskly pacing off in the other direction and muttering something under his breath. 

“Wh- hey, wait up!” she called out, beginning to chase after him. However, she didn’t get far before she tripped over her own paws. Which, why? Walking wasn’t even that hard, she should be able to do that. Well, the shifting sands weren’t on her side and neither were her aching limbs, but still. She fought back to her paws and stumbled after him.

There was no way she was going to be able to catch up to the guy, so instead, she called after him before he left. “Hi, I-um… I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I know you probably don’t have the time, but I could use a little bit of help, an-”

A threatening growl sounded from the back of his throat, and she trailed off. His stubby tail lashed back and forth, even more violently than before. “Leave me alone.” Each word came out with force. 

“Could you at least point me in the right direction?” Her voice started to strain with desperation. He had made it clear that he was one of the last people she should get help from. But he also happened to be the only person she could get help from, so it wasn’t like she had much of a choice.

He didn’t even look back at her. “What the hell do you even want? Just, go home already. Jeez.” 

“Well… that’s part of the problem. I don’t really know where my home is.”

That must have done the trick because he stopped in his tracks. He turned back to her, his yellow eyes displaying his confusion. “What do you mean you don’t know where your home is?” His voice was less harsh than before, but barely.

“Let me rephrase that.” She started to get closer to him, not only thanks to the fact that he had stopped, but because she was kind of figuring out how to walk on the sand. “I don’t really remember where my home is. Or, how I got here in the first place,” she added quieter.

“Well, I kind of guessed you don’t live around here.” He turned his whole body to face her. His lashing tail began to still, but his stance still betrayed irritation. “Seriously, how often do you find a Vulpix that decided to live on a beach?” Heavy sarcasm was woven within his words.

She laughed along faintly but hesitated. She had no memory of her past life, much less a lead on where to start looking. So what exactly would she ask him?

“So are you just bugging me to bug me, or...?” He looked impatient, as if he had better things to be doing somewhere else. 

“I-um…” She struggled to put the right words into a proper sentence that not only created a request that made sense, but also one that he would agree to. But what would she say? Hi, I just woke up on this beach with no memory of my past life, can I travel with you before whatever post-apocalyptic nightmare fuel lives here decides that I look like a light snack? No, that was ridiculous. There was no way she could get that specific.

“Would it, by any chance, be okay if I stayed at your place for a little while? At least until I figure out where to go next.”

He paused, almost betraying a mild confusion. Then he turned away and sat down, muttering something under his breath. Her pair of tails both drooped. She knew this was a lot to ask. Maybe even a little too much. After all, they had just met. Why would he even think about accepting her request?

The muttering continued, but he still hadn’t left. Not yet anyway. Finally, he sighed and turned back around. “Tell you what. My place is a bit of a wreck, so I don’t really want anyone in there right now. But I could escort you to the guild in town. If you’re looking for the next step, that’s the place you want to go.”

“Really?” His offer sounded unreal. He seemed so harsh and rough around the edges. She hadn’t even thought about whether he even had a home. And what about his family, or possibly fellow survivors? What would they say if he was late coming back from… whatever he was doing? But even more than that, what was she going to do about her missing memories? That was still a problem.

“Are you coming or what?” he asked, this time a few feet farther than before. She scrambled to catch up with him. Slowly, but it was still a scramble.

He started his brisk pace again as soon as she was a foot behind him. As they walked in silence, she found herself looking at the water. The soft crashing of the waves rushing to the shore was soothing, almost as if to wish her luck on her journey. Of course, there was no way to prepare her for the true nature of this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! This is my first fanfic on here, and I'm still trying to figure some things out. I actually started writing this particular story in January of 2019, hence why I was able to upload the first 16 chapters at the rate I did. I hope you all enjoy what I have to offer!


	2. Treasure Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3.10.20 edit- I redid a few bits in the first three chapters to make the beginning smoother. This one got the biggest facelift out of the three, mostly to give a better description of Treasure Town and to fix up the POV. If you are just popping in on a whim, make sure you go back and check out the first three chapters again. Thanks!

The trek up the stairs was silent. Shinx walked up the stairs almost at jogging speed with determined strides. Vulpix, on the other hand, was too busy trying to hide her exhaustion to strike up a conversation. Partially because she didn’t want to reveal how loud her gasps for air were, but also because talking would just waste some of her precious breath. At least the ground was solid here. 

A few excited shouts could be heard from somewhere above. Before she could have a chance to reach some half- baked conclusion, a few young Pokemon rushed past her down the stairs to the beach. They weren't distressed in any way, and the carefree nature of their movements were unmistakable. Okay, maybe she had to rethink her first conclusion. But the environment that waited for her at the top of the stairs should either confirm that theory or deny it.

As she climbed the last few stairs, a beam of mid-morning sun blinded her for a moment. It didn’t take long for her eyes to adjust to the lighting shift. When they did, she was greeted with a rather pleasant change of scenery. 

The sun itself was poking out from a giant green hill toward the east, dotted with small houses of various shapes and sizes. A few small stone paths stretched through the neighborhood before joining a larger path and weaving down to where she stood. From where she was, it was possible to spot a few other mons in the distance, going about their days. 

Shinx didn’t continue up the neighborhood path, instead walking down a separate path that stretched up a smaller hill southward. She took one last look at the view before quickening her pace again. Right, this wasn’t the time to go sight-seeing. She had to find the guild and figure out what to do next. Then maybe she could explore the land she was so gracelessly dropped into. But what she saw at the top was not anything she would have ever expected. 

The cobblestone path continued down the other side of the hill and led to a large and colorful town. A wave of chatter could be heard from where she stood. A seemingly impossible number of pokemon populated the streets, despite how early it was on this damp morning. 

Well, that certainly ruled out the possibility of a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

There wasn’t much time to admire the sight, much less process it, as Shinx continued down the hill without hesitation. She quickened her pace to catch up with him yet again. But as she did, she couldn’t help but notice a few small groups scattered along the green grass of the incline. A few turned their heads to look at her, and she quickly looked away. Were they talking about her? Maybe. She was a foreigner, she was still fighting a painful stiffness, and her fur was a wreck.

Her fur, oh shit. She was about to go someplace, likely very official, to ask for help, and she looked like she had just crawled through a thornbush backward! She could have at least tried to brush herself before going into town. But it wasn’t like she couldn’t ask Shinx about it. He probably was on a very tight schedule and barely had the time to escort her across town. She had already wasted more than enough of his time, and they didn’t know each other. So, she opted to suffer in silence and to pray that everyone was too busy to notice her. 

The further they descended into the heart of the town, the more cramped and afraid she felt. They were everywhere; walking in and out of brightly colored tents, lounging on the side of the path, dashing through the crowds at high speeds. Every single one thought she was weird. She was certain of it. She instinctively reached to grip her scarf, and almost lost her balance. Hot shame flushed to her cheeks as she regained her composure. A laugh rang out. Directed at her, most likely. 

Shinx’s gaze shifted to a large tent on the left before he turned back to her. “Hang on, I gotta get something real quick. I’ll be right back.” He started his path over to the shop before she could get a single word in. She didn’t try to follow him. Instead, she quickly got out of the way of traffic and sat at the edge of the cobblestone path. 

She was really in the belly of the beast now. The path was much wider to fit the massive traffic. This meant more people that got the opportunity to silently mock her. She tucked in her tails and paws closer to her body as a few rounds of children ran past her. The noise of the town grew louder with each passing second. She wanted nothing more to leave but found she couldn’t. All she could do was close her eyes and beg for the clamor to stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it- 

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around,” a voice from nearby said. She turned to find a young mon about her age, if not a little older. His curly brown fur was honestly a bit of a mess. Two rather large bucked-teeth permanently struck out of his mouth. But she didn’t have too much room to nitpick other people's appearances. 

“Yeah, I um… I just got here this morning,” she responded. Way to make a good first impression. 

“Oh, where’d you come from?” He asked as he sat next to her.

She paused. She couldn’t tell him the truth, that she had washed up on the beach after a storm, without memory of her past. And even if she did, it wasn’t like he would believe her. Heck, Shinx probably didn’t even believe her. Why would this random stranger have any reason to buy something dumb like that? “Uh, overseas I guess?”

His basil eyes lit up with amazement. “Really? That’s awesome! My old home is about a week’s journey northeast from here, but I’ve never traveled across the sea before. I’m not sure I’ll get too many opportunities to do that as a guild employee, but I don’t mind.” 

“So, do you like, work at the guild?”

“Yup! But I’m not part of a rescue team or anything, I’m just a member of staff.” He paused. “So are you part of a transfer team? Or are you just visiting Treasure Town for funsies?”

“Just visiting,” she said quickly. 

He nodded. “Well, if you’re here for sightseeing, I definitely recommend checking out the rest of the docks, or the private beach a little way north of here.”

“Yeah…” She fell silent as she waited for his next words, then panicked when she realized it was her responsibility to carry on the conversation. Oh, gods, what did she have to talk about? That was relevant?

“I like your scarf,” he said, unprompted. 

“R-really? Thanks.” Her scarf looked like it was supposed to be fuschia, but it was still damp with saltwater and appeared a few shades darker than normal. She should really get it washed. 

“Where’d you get it from?”

“Uh-”

“‘Kay, I’m ready. Let's go.” Shinx appeared basically out of nowhere. A small cloth bag now hung around his neck, joining his compound necklace. 

She rose to her paws, but turned back to the nice mon. “Well, it was nice to meet you.”

“It was nice to meet you too.” He gave one last warm smile before turning around and disappearing into the crowds. She gave a weak smile as she watched him leave, then drew in a breath as she followed Shinx deeper into town.

She stayed closer to his side now. The crowds almost seemed to have doubled in density, and the idea of getting lost in this noisy city was terrifying. Still, she worried that she was too close to him for his comfort. So she lingered behind him a little, but not too much. Too far and she would get lost. Too close and he would get mad, or worse, uncomfortable. There really was no way to win this, was there?

There was no way to truly gauge when they finally left the center of town. It could have been when the crowd shifted from restless adolescents on an adventure to older folks just enjoying the day. It could have been when the houses started to outnumber the tents. There was probably an official marker somewhere, but she marked it as the spot where the noise level didn’t want to make her run away to a ravine and cry alone in the dark. That spot was in the middle of another neighborhood complex. 

Somehow, this one had more life in it than the one she had seen before. Maybe it was because there was a massive game of tag on the street between a few dozen of the local children. Or the handful of adults that had formed a circle of lighthearted conversation. As they continued past the neighborhood, she couldn’t help but feel like she stuck out. She wasn’t from around her. She didn’t know how to act, or how to navigate the town without help. She didn’t belong, it was that simple.

They left the neighborhood behind quickly. The path continued straight to some more neighborhoods, but this time, it was broken by a pair of stairs stretching opposite directions. To the right of them was a path leading down to a large expanse of docks. To the left, another staircase, upwards this time. He turned to the left set of stairs after a moment of hesitation, and she followed close behind.

It was now on this upward hike that she realized just how much her limbs ached. Not just from the earlier exhaustion from waking up on the beach, but also from her trek through the massive town. She wanted nothing more than to sleep for the rest of the day. There likely wasn’t going to be the opportunity to do so, but the idea was nice. 

Her vision was starting to tunnel. Lightheadedness threatened to knock her down. But she had to keep going. She couldn’t let herself be seen as weak. Maybe there would be some water she could have at the guild. But she would have to wait until she found a lead to her past, or at the very least, a place to stay for a while.

Just when she thought she couldn’t climb another step up the stairs, they ended. They leveled out to a small dirt path lined with a variety of painted totem poles, each one unique and possibly hand-crafted. The path finally stopped at the foot of a small pink hut. Besides the bulky wooden grate blocking the entrance, it looked like all the other tents in town. But how was she going to get past that gate?

“Oh, hi again!” The nice mon from early had snuck up behind them at some point. 

“Hi,” she said back. Shinx only nodded slightly. 

The nice mon smiled, then scurried past them. However, he didn’t walk up to the gate and instead stopped a few feet in front of it.

“Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!” She nearly jumped out of her fur when the ground beneath him spoke. But now that she looked closer, it seemed as if he was standing on top of a grate on sorts.

“Who’s footprint? Who’s footprint?” A voice from inside the hut shouted back. 

There was a bit of hesitation from the voice under the grate, but it quickly answered, “The footprint is Bidoof’s! The footprint is Bidoof’s!”

“State your purpose for visiting the guild,” the voice in the hut demanded.

“It’s Asher,” he responded, “and I’ve brought two visitors to the guild.”

“I’m not a visitor, just an escort,” Shinx quickly clarified.

“Asher and two visitors, right?” The voice in the hut didn’t wait for a response. “Alright, one moment please.”

Soon, a chorus of shifting wood began, and the gate that safeguarded the entrance lifted. Asher trotted inside without a hint of hesitation. “Come on, let’s go!” he called out.

She drew in a breath as she followed him inside, and she continued to emerge deeper into the culture of this unfamiliar world.


	3. The Guild of Treasures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3.15.20 edit- I redid a few bits in the first three chapters to make the beginning smoother. This one changed the least, only a few dialogue shifts here and there. If you are just popping in on a whim, make sure you go back and check out the first three chapters again. Thanks!

From the moment she walked in, Vulpix could immediately tell this wasn’t an ordinary hut. The dyed leathers that made up the walls made attempts to dance in the breeze. Two small windows above their heads let in the mid-morning sun leak through. But there was no bedding, no chest to stash treasures. There was only a single runged ladder, cutting deep into the earth. But light shone deep in the hole, and she could almost hear a faint chatter below.

The Loudred had barely shifted from his spot by an odd contraption, most likely one that raised and lowered the gate. “Asher, after you escort these two downstairs, Chatot’s been looking to talk to you.”

“I’ve already placed my hold for the Big Apple shipment.”

“No, not that. It’s about something else, he didn’t tell me what.”

Asher nodded, then turned back to Grace, his normal smile back in its place. “This way, down the stairs!” Bidoof took off down the spiral staircase that coiled around the ladder. Vulpix stole a glance from Shinx as he padded down the stairs. He still hadn’t said anything, but the sparks rolling along his pelt and the annoyed glint in his eyes suggested that he was far from pleased. She waited until he had descended a few feet to proceed down the spiral. 

The first floor was certainly a change of pace from the entrance. A large room filled with numerous other pokemon was completely visible even from the top of the ladder. Sturdy, wooden beams aided in the shape of the room, supporting the rocky interior. Small patches of grass decorated the cobblestone and dirt floor. Once her paws hit the bottom, a few mons took notice of them. But it was short-lived, and they soon continued on with their conversations. Vulpix couldn’t help but wonder what they were talking about…

“Bidoof! There you are!” somemon impatiently squawked from across the room. A bird typed Pokemon, slightly larger and far more vibrant than the ones she had seen in town, hopped across the room. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for yo-” he paused when he realized that Bidoof hadn’t come alone. 

“Oh,” his tone had softened immediately, “you brought visitors.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied confidently, puffing out his chest.

Chatot looked at him the way an exhausted parent would look at their hyperactive child. “If you got the information about the shipment, take it to Chimecho,” he sighed. “They should know what to do. I’ll take care of the newcomers.”

“On it, sir,” he answered before running off into one of the rooms on the opposite wall.

Once he was out of view, Chatot drew in a deep breath before turning back to Vulpix and Shinx. His earlier annoyance was still present, but not as fiercely as it was before. “Now, if either of you are salesmen or are just here for a survey, I suggest you leave now.”

“We’re not,” she assured him. He seemed busy and maybe a little stressed, so it probably wouldn’t be the best to get on his bad side. 

“Good.” He seemed slightly less tense than earlier. “Then I assume you’re here to tour the guild, am I right?”

“Er, yeah.” Maybe she could ask about a library later, but for now, this seemed like the best option.

He perked up, whether it was out of surprise, concern, or faint excitement was unknown. “Really?” He let out a short huff, but she could have sworn she saw a faint smile form on his beak. “That’s always good to hear. We could always use more help around here.” He turned to Shinx. “And what about you?”

“I’m only here to make sure Vulpix managed to get to the guild,” he answered. “And since she’s here, I think it’s about time I take my leave.”

Chatot didn’t answer at first, nodding along to his statement, but instead studied them both for an uncomfortably long period of time. But he seemed a tad more interested in Shinx. Or more specifically, in the necklace he had on. 

“Well, I assume the Guildmaster would still like to meet you personally,” he stated. “I haven’t seen either of you beforehand, and I doubt he has as well.”

“But I’m not-” Shinx started.

“I know,” he affirmed before he could say anything else “You’ve already made your case.” He sighed again, a little longer than last time. “Just follow me downstairs.” With that he hopped in between the two, grabbing hold of the ladder with his talons and climbing downward. 

Vulpix started to run down the staircase before she stopped and turned back to Shinx. There was no sign of him sparking up, but there were other ways to tell he was less than pleased. 

“You coming?” she asked. She realized that might have come off as bossy before adding, “I mean, unless you still want to leave…”

“I guess I’ll come,” he grumbled as he began his descent behind her.

The room below looked very similar to the one they had just left, only this one was far less crowded. Only a few others pokemon her age, if not a little younger, populated the room. One of them, a white and orange Buneary of sorts, saw her and waved, giving out a greeting to the foreigner. She smiled back, unsure of how she would wave back with paws.

Chatot had already hopped to the center by the time Vulpix got to the bottom of the stairs. “This is the second floor of the guild,” he explained. “This floor is mainly used for housing, as well as the Guildmaster’s room.” He pointed with a wing to a wooden door under an orange and pink stone arch. “Come along please.”

Something next to the door caught her attention. A large window broke out from the wall, held up with a few more wooden beams. But the window itself wasn’t the surprising part. “Wow!” she marveled out loud. “We’re almost two floors under the ground, but you can still see outside!”

“Yeah, almost as if the guild was built on the side of a cliff.” Shinx’s words hit like a brick to the back of the head. A wave of embarrassment flushed through her. She shouldn’t have said that out loud. 

“Shinx is correct,” Chatot affirmed with a flick of his tail. “It’s only natural you’d be able to see outside. However,” he turned to him, a suddenly serious look on his face, “under no circumstance should you speak like that in the Guildmaster’s presence. Understand?”

“Alright, okay.” 

Chatot seemed somewhat satisfied with his response. As he knocked on the door with a talon, Shinx hissed something under his breath. If Chatot noticed, he didn’t show it.

The door opened inwardly, as a rather large, pink-furred mon held it open. “Chatot,” he grinned, “you’re back early.” Then his enormous sea-green eyes fell on the newcomers. “Hmm, I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before…” he paused, but by his small grin, she could tell it was completely on purpose. “You two wouldn’t happen to be looking to form a rescue team, now would you?”

“I believe so,” answered Chatot. “Bidoof brought them in recently, so it’s safe to assume that.” 

The Guildmaster nodded along, a growing smile on his face. “In that case, come on in!” He seemed rather nice, but now was probably be too early to make too many assumptions. Vulpix waited for Shinx to turn down the offer, but he was busy scanning the Guildmaster’s room. 

The room looked, for lack of better words, unusually symmetrical. Two chests sat on the opposite edges of the room, each stocked full with numerous treasures. On the back wall hung a tapestry with a picture of the guildmaster’s face on it. On either side of it, a window allowed the light from outside to pass in. 

The Guildmaster moved to a carpet on the ground closer to the back wall, one that two unlit torches seemed to guard. Chatot followed, but stopped to the right of the torches and turned back to the new recruits. Shinx stationed himself at the opposite end of the room and motioned for Vulpix to do the same. 

“Anyways,” Wigglytuff continued as he got situated, “I’m Wigglytuff, Guildmaster of the Guild of Treasures. I’m sure you’ve already met the co-leader Chatot.” Upon hearing his name, Chatot puffed out his chest faintly, clearly proud of his title. 

Wigglytuff looked as if he was about to continue his thought, but he paused. Something had caught his eye. His impossibly large eyes flitted between her and her “companion,” almost as if he was searching for something. Time seemed to stretch those seconds into years. She felt her heart begin to pound in her chest, and it was all she could do to keep her breath steady. 

Finally, he opened his mouth to end it. “This is a little off-topic, but I like your necklace.” She let out a quiet sigh of relief when she realized the statement wasn’t addressed to her.

“Thanks?” Shinx replied. Vulpix guessed by the tone of his reply that he didn’t get compliments often. 

“Might I ask where you got it?”

“My father...gave it to me,” he answered.

The Guildmaster wordlessly nodded along. “So, I assume you two wanted to form a rescue team, am I right?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Uh, yeah,” she answered, even though she had no idea what that was. Honestly, she was too afraid to ask at this point.

Shinx, however, flattened his ears against his skull. “I already told Chatot that I was just visiting,” he growled, rising to his paws. “And if I’m completely honest, I should have left a long time ag-”

Vulpix nearly jumped out of her fur as Chatot flew across the room, grabbing ahold of Shinx’s chest fur and looking him dead in the eye. “You will not leave this room until the Guildmaster has told you to.” His words were a harsh whisper, filled with a strict rage. “I don’t care if you never intended to join, you *will* respect the Guildmaster.”

“Chatot, please, it’s not that big of a deal,” Wigglytuff insisted. The co-leader looked back at him, conflicted. Then he let out a defeated huff and hopped back over to the Guildmaster, giving his feathers a quick shake. Though the spite in his eyes had weakened, it still remained. The feeling was mutual, as the faint growling under Shinx’s breath announced.

While the silent anger between the two still lingered, Wigglytuff seemed more than ready to continue the registration. “So, have you picked out a team name yet?” he questioned, 

She froze. Team names? This was a compound thing? Oh dear god, what was she signing up for? “I-uh, well...not yet, sorry.” She tore her eyes away from his as she apologized. 

He let out a light-hearted chuckle. “No, you’re fine. Most mons who want to form a team don’t usually think about that part.” He shuffled over to one of the treasure chests and rifled through it before pulling out a piece of paper. “I’ve made a list of a few possible names,” he reassured, setting it down in front of her paws. 

On the page was a variety of scribbles. Or at least, they looked like scribbles. The way they were organized, they were probably letters and words. She just couldn’t make heads or tails out of any of it. But it wasn’t like she could just *tell* him that she couldn’t read the notes he had written. For gosh sake, that would probably be one of the last things you’d want to tell your possible future boss! Then, a perfect cover-up came to mind. 

She pointed to one of the words on the page with a claw. “I kind of like this one,” she said, silently pleading for this to work. “I’m just not sure how to pronounce it.” Was she crazy? This wasn’t going to work. Why would he ever-

“Team Omega?” He put on a smile that was usually reserved for parents and mentors. “That’s a good choice.” He backed up a little, looking resolved. “From now on, you two will be known as-”

“Wait just a goddamn minute,” Shinx interrupted. His statement was immediately met with a stern look from Chatot, but he showed no sign that it affected him in any way. “I believe I’ve already said *multiple times* that I don’t want to be part of a rescue team. In fact, it’s actually one of the last things I’d rather be doing right now.”

Chatot looked as if he were about to start screeching at the Mon, but before he could even draw in the first breath, Wigglytuff cleared his throat and stated, “Chatot, I can handle this.”

The co-leader looked taken aback. “But sir, he’s being incredibly rude to you.”

“And I believe it’s never a good idea to handle violence with violence,” he answered. Chatot looked as if he were about to find a reason to continue the short argument, but the words died on his tongue and he sighed. 

The Guildmaster turned back to the Shinx. “Now, I know you’ve already made it clear several times, but this young Vulpix really needs a teammate, and I feel like you’d really enjoy the life that this Guild has to offer.”

He scoffed. “I’ll have you know I have a perfectly good life on my own. Besides,” he added with a flick of his tail, “can’t she just join another team, or have a solo team maybe?” 

Even though the conversation was all about her future, Vulpix remained silent. The two of them seemed fairly determined to get their point across to the other, and now would probably be one of the worst times to intervene. Or maybe she was just afraid that Shinx would snap at her as well. Probably both. Besides, what could an amnesic hope to contribute to a conversation?

“She could join another team of apprentices,” Wigglytuff replied, “if there was a group that had joined the guild recently. And last I checked, only higher-level mons are allowed to for solo teams, and even then it’s rather frowned upon.”

“That’s a stupid rule,” he growled.

“Well, ever since HAPPI changed the protocol for all rescue teams back in 3482, it’s resulted in far fewer casualties of younger mons,” Chatot intervened, matter-of-factually. “So we’ll be sticking with it, whether you like it or not.” 

“Stay. Out of this.” Sparks crackled along Shinx’s pelt as he hissed through gritted teeth, but he hardly flinched. He just muttered something about attitude under his breath.

The Guildmaster waited until the sparks died down a little before continuing; “I’ll let you two in on a little secret. In most cases, you can’t just walk in and join on the spot. Goodness, you’d be lucky to join at all. Even for this guild, it’d take a little more time and effort to become part of the team training program, especially one complete with permanent housing and three meals a day. So you could consider this a once in a lifetime offer. 

“However, if you still want to leave, I’ll let you go now.”

Vulpix half expected him to simply walk out of the room without another word. But he instead just dropped his gaze to the ground, claws sliding in and out as the wheels in his head turned. 

Finally, he let out a sigh harsh enough to rub your fur the wrong way on its own and answered. “Fine, I’ll join the dumb team.”

She smiled, but that did nothing to dent her fears. She still didn’t have the slightest clue what she had signed up for, and whether or not she was even qualified, to begin with. And now there was a very angry Shinx thrown in the mix too. Everything was just moving too fast.

Wigglytuff smiled too, but his seemed genuine. “Now that you’re an official rescue team, it’s only fitting you should get your own Rescue Team Kit.” Even before the sentence had ended fully, Chatot had already flapped over to the other chest and retrieved a bag from inside. He flung it over to them, and it hit the ground in front of them with a loud thump. Inside was a fairly new copy of a map, a small bag of currency, and a pair of badges.

“Your training won’t begin until tomorrow, and your room won’t be ready until later today,” Chatot explained. “I suggest you use this time to make a few friends. But don’t try and stay up too late, because you’ll be expected to rise earlier for your training.” He pointed a wing to the door. “You two are dismissed.”

Shinx quickly rose and retreated out of the room. Vulpix began to do the same, but Wigglytuff still had one more thing he wanted to ask.

“Wait, before you go, can I at least know your names?”

“Rylan,” he growled without turning back. Before any more questions could be asked, he had already left the room. 

“And what about you?” he sincerely asked. She had no clue what her life had been like before, but fortunately, her name was one of the few things she did remember.

“It’s Grace.”


	4. The Scream

The 3rd day of Long Sun

_“Oh good. You *do* know when to give up. Because if you didn’t, your little friend here will be in for a world of pain.”_

Grace awoke with a start, torn away so suddenly from the world of dreams. That voice. It had belonged to an older mon she hadn’t ever heard before, and she knew it didn’t belong to any of the staff. But somemon had to have said that, right? 

The world around her was still rather dark, the sun slumbering somewhere beyond the horizon. Her new partner- Rylan, was it?- remained motionless apart for the faint rising and falling off his chest. Her room, although it still felt unfamiliar, looked nearly the exact same as it did when she first entered it. As far as she could tell, nothing was off.

*Maybe it was just a nonsense dream*,* she told herself, before curling back up in her nest and closing her eyes. The ocean waves, mercilessly crashing against the rocky shore below them, faded to a white noise. The moon, now visible from their window, cast a faint light into the room.

Sleep did not return to her. After she realized her efforts would only be in vain, she sat back up.

Besides that weird dream, many other things crossed her mind. Why did she wake up on that beach, without a clue of what her former life was? Who or what did she used to be? How did she even get to the beach in the first place? What awaited her and her partner in the morning? Too many questions with far too few answers danced around in her thoughts. 

She didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts anymore, and it’d be nice to have somemon to talk to. 

“Hey Shinx,” she asked, her voice lowered, “you awake?”

No response. She waited for a bit, calling out his name a few times. Still nothing.

She let out a quiet sigh and shook out her fur. The thought of sleeping was further from her than ever, and there wasn’t much to do in the room. As she padded out, she took one more glance at him. He looked so peaceful, non-threatening almost. Regardless, it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to try and wake him.

One thing she quickly realized was how difficult it was to use a door with paws, especially when it was late at night, and making too much noise would only cause trouble. Regardless, she managed, but left the door open a crack. It seemed like too big of a risk to close it all the way. 

Their room was at the very back of a hallway, one filled with nothing but unlit torches and other rooms. Rooms for mons like her, new recruits at the Guild. All the wooden doors looked exactly the same. The only difference was the symbols painted on them in black. She could only guess they were numbers, or something similar. 

Something caught her ear as she passed one of the doors. The faint whispers of a few other mons leaked under the door she had stopped beside. It was impossible to guess what they were saying. She leaned in to press her ear against the door, then stopped. It would probably be rude to eavesdrop, and whatever they were discussing was likely none of her business. Instead, she continued down the hallway.

The main room was just about the same as hers; quiet, and rather dark. Granted, larger windows allowed for more moonlight to slip in, casting away a few more shadows. But besides her own pawsteps and the waves below, there was little other sound.

“Can’t sleep either?” an unseen voice towards the left took her by surprise. It was Asher, the Bidoof that had invited her to the guild yesterday. 

“No, not really,” she answered. 

“Nervous about your first day?”

“Yeah.” There were other fears and doubts still on her mind, but they had barely known each other for 24 hours. He didn’t need to know. At least, not yet.

“I was nervous about my first day too.” He let out a light chuckle. “Granted, I’m just part of the staff. You’re actually a rescue team member!”

“Rescue team *apprentice,*” she reminded him. 

“Right, my bad.” He looked around the room, a little unsure of something. “Well, it is pretty early to start working. Your partner’s still asleep, right?” 

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

He looked away, as if he had just realized something. “I was just hoping we could hang out in your room, but then again you just got here and-”

“No no, that’s fine!” she reassured. “I mean, I think that’d be a good idea.” She paused, and thought for a moment. “Do you think we could, by any chance, hang in your room?”

“Well, we could. But I doubt we’d even be able to hear our own thoughts above my roommate's snoring.”

Grace let out a quick burst of laughter, which Asher soon added to with his own. Gods, he was already such a better friend then Rylan. It was kind of a shame they couldn’t be partners instead. But she was still thankful to be part of the guild in the first place. And part of her felt that she would eventually come to like him. At least, she hoped.

“How about we hang out in the mess hall instead?” he suggested. She recalled being served dinner there the previous night, along with the rest of the guild. 

“Sure.” She had not much else to do, and it would be great to get to know the mon who invited her a little better.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━

No mon else was in the room when they entered. It was odd, really. The last time she had been in here, the numerous long tables were full of team members and apprentices, all trying to make their own voices heard over the clamor of conversation. 

A large number of torches and candles had lit the walls. A few even hung from the ceiling in a glowing display of craftsmanship. Not to mention, the smell of food had been almost as overpowering as the noise. The stillness that set in the early hours of the morning seemed extremely out of place.

Despite all of the empty seats and tables in the room, Asher sat at the very end of the nearest table, hardly even 7 feet from the door. Grace slid in beside him, briefly shaking out her fur. The two of them sat in silence for a few seconds, trying to find the best way to start the conversation.

“So, how was your first day as a guild apprentice?” he finally asked, breaking the silence of the early morning, even though his voice was still rather hushed.

“Uh, well,” she began, “it was, definitely interesting.”

“Explain.”

It took her a bit to recount all the events that had occurred the day before. However, it wasn’t considerably hard, because they were some of the only things that were still fresh in her mind. “Well,” she began, “after you left, Shinx and I made a team together.”

“I thought you said he didn’t want to.”

“He didn’t. It’s just that Wigglytuff kept insisting that he join. He eventually agreed, but he’s still pretty upset about the whole thing.”

“I’ve noticed,” Asher remarked, adding in another light chuckle. “If looks could kill, half the guild would have been dead before moonhigh!”

She let out a small giggle, but when she realized she probably shouldn’t make fun of her new teammate, a bit of regret quickly began to set in. She shook away the thought and continued, “Then after that, one of the other apprentices gave us a tour.” She paused. “Her name was Sadie, but I couldn’t really tell what type of mon she was.”

“Yeah, she’s a hybrid,” he explained. “One of her mothers is a Lopunny, and her other is an Cinderace.”

She nodded along. “She showed us the jobs and outlaw boards, as well as the rest of the public rooms.” Sadie’s speech began to return, word for word. The first floor housed the individual rooms of the official teams in the guild, as well as the first mess hall and a few other storage rooms. On the second floor, however, was the rooms for apprentices, staff, and the guildmaster.

“By the time she had finished, it was time for dinner. You weren’t anywhere in the room, and I didn’t want to risk saying anything that would make Shinx any madder than he already was, so I sat with Sadie and the rest of her team.”

“She’s the leader of Team Wildfire, right?” He probably already knew the answer, but just wanted to make sure. 

“Uh, yes, she is,” Grace confirmed. “There was a Togedemaru, an Axew, and a Wooper with her as well. I think they’re her teammates.”

He paused, recalling the names from somewhere. “Jet, Dakota, and Atlas? Yeah, they’re part of Team Wildfire. We see each other from time to time. Granted, we don’t get to talk as often as we like, but that’s fine.”

One little detail from the previous night resurfaced, and her ears drooped. “Is something wrong?” he questioned, temporarily dropping his grin.

“No, nothing’s wrong,” she insisted, “it’s just that… that Axew, she, uh, said something last night, and I’m not sure if it’s true.”

“Tell me.”

“Asher, is the world really going to end on the 21st of High Summer?”

His smile returned and he let out a slight chuckle. “No, of course not! That rumor’s been floating around for a while, and nothing bad has happened yet.” He paused, before knocking on the table a few times with a paw. “Some mons just like to stir up trouble, that’s all.”

Grace drew in a deep breath, before turning back to him. “You’re right. It’s probably just a rumor.” *At least, I hope it is,* she added to herself.

“So, what happened after dinner?” he asked, picking up the conversation from where it had left off.

“Nothing exciting, really. Shinx and I just went to our room and went straight to bed.”

He blinked, opening his mouth as if to say something. Then he paused and nodded understandingly. “Yeah, that’s usually what the smart apprentices do on their first day. Most aren’t really prepared for how early they have to start wor-”

He froze, then frantically glanced around the room. “Oh no, what time is it?” His gaze eventually met a window, but more importantly, the sky beyond it. The sun still had yet to rise, but the sky was beginning to lighten. 

“Shoot, I’ve got to go.” He quickly rose from his seat. “Rolecall’s gonna start any second.”

“Wait, rolecall?” Grace’s voice rose a little. “Do I have to be there too?”

“No, no, you’ve got about an hour until the apprentices’ roll call.” He bolted to the entrance of the mess hall, but turned back. “I’ll talk to you later, bye!” Then he scampered down the hallway and out of sight.

She didn’t move from where she sat. If what he said was true, then it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to enter the main room and get mistaken for a staff member. Instead, she turned and padded over to the window the window behind her. 

The sun itself was somewhere behind her, but not that that mattered. She watched as the sky grew brighter and brighter shades of blue, until it was the same shade as the ocean. As the morning sun roused the world and began the new day, she had forgotten all about why she had woken up so early in the first place.


	5. The First Rescue

It was about noon when Team Omega returned to Treasure Town. As they did, the sun battled through a layer of fluffy clouds, only occasionally breaking through the barrier. Another breeze stirred the air, this one blowing in from the east.

For their first ever assignment, Chatot had entrusted them with a retrieval mission. The client, a Spoink, had claimed they lost their pearl in Drench Bluff, which happened to be merely a 15 minute hike from the guild. Actually locating the pearl, however, took more time than either had thought, despite its size. But nonetheless, their quest had been successful.

Rylan had hardly spoke during the quest. She didn’t dare ask about it, but she had a good guess as to why. However, once they got back to town, his plans had changed.

“Grace.” She flinched slightly as he finally broke his silence, one that had lasted at least 4 hours but felt much longer. 

“I’m gonna check out the link shop. If you want to buy something at the Kecleon Market, go ahead.” He began to pad away, hardly giving her a chance to respond. 

“I’ll, uh, met you back at the Guild,” she called out regardless. He made no sign to indicate he had heard her. 

Once he was gone, she let out a sigh. All day, she had been tripping over herself to not say anything that would give her partner another reason to hate her. Granted, she found herself fretting about that with everymon she crossed with. But with Rylan, her anxiety was always far worse.

She shook the thought away as the shop came into view. Along with all the facilities within the guild, Sadie had also given them a tour of Treasure Town, but spent most of the time pointing out shops and suppliers. She hadn’t seen her since that day, however. She and the rest of her team were probably just busy.

The shopkeepers, a pair of Kecleons whos color schemes were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, were busy with a pair of flying types. She got in line behind them, suddenly worried that she didn’t look presentable.

“I can help whoever’s next,” called out one of the brothers. She drew in a breath before she walked up to the booth. 

The mon who had called sported a green and yellow pattern, abet from the large red stripe running around his stomach. “What can I do for you today miss?” Judging by how smoothly the words left his mouth, he had either done this a lot, or was just that good at talking to strangers. Probably both.

“Hi, so…” she paused, struggling to find the right words, “is there any way I can see what you have for sale?”

“Absolutely,” he answered with enthusiasm. He ducked under the booth and handed her a slightly worn slip of paper. “Take your time.”

As she scanned through the list, she found herself in the same situation as before. Strange symbols decorated the page in an orderly fashion, with a little more effort than the scroll she had read in Guildmaster Wigglytuff’s room. But that wouldn’t help her now. 

However, some of the symbols looked familiar. She recalled seeing them painted on the doors in the apprentice wing of the guild. Those symbols were most likely numbers, or in this case, the prices of each item. Even if she had no clue how much those prices were, she at least recognized the symbols.

Then a realization dawned on her. If she did want to buy something, it would cost money. And at the moment, she had none. 

“Mister Kecleon!” Before she could address the issue, a Marill, about her age, ran up to the shop. An Azurill of the same color and shape was close behind.

Both of the brothers’ faces lit up in an instant. “Well, if it isn’t our favorite little customers!” The other brother, colored purple and gold, called out in delight. “What can I help you two with today?”

“One medium Berry Basket, please,” Marill requested. She placed a tiny leather bag on the table, the contents making a small clink as it came in contact.

“Coming right up,” replied the green brother, before disappearing deep into the shop. 

The Kecleon left to watch the shop watched as his brother left the view, before opening the small bag, pouring its contents on the table. Several coins of different sizes, shapes, and colors clattered against the wooden table. Grace watched as he began to sort them accordingly.

“So, might I ask how your mother is doing?” He spoke in a hushed voice, keeping the upcoming conversation a secret to the general public.

Marill leaned in closer to the booth, adding to the discrete nature of the interaction. “She’s doing alright, definitely better than she has been this past week.”

He smiled. “Well, that’s certainly good news! I just hope she makes a full recovery soon.” Approaching footsteps hinted at the other brother’s return. “In the meantime, I suggest you take your merchandise back home.”

The green brother arrived from the depths of his shop carrying a decently sized basket, woven with a brown material, filled to the brim with various bright colored fruits. 

Marill reached for the basket, then paused. “Hang on a minute,” she interjected. “This is a large basket, and I only brought enough money for a medium.”

“Consider it a gift from my brother and I.”

“Wait really!?” Her eyes lit up. “Thank you so much!” She picked up the basket with both hands, barely keeping it from falling onto the ground, but soon she had a good grip on it. “Now we’ll have plenty of time to look for our Water Float,” she told her brother, who immediately began to jump up and down in excitement. She waved again as she began her exit, and motioned for her brother to do the same.

“Thank you Misters Kecleons!” Azurill squeaked as the duo left the town square. Grace watched them go, but something was off. Even though this was the first time their paths had crossed, she could have sworn she had seen them both before. But where?

“Find anything you like?” The shopkeeper’s question took her by surprise.

“I was just- looking at the prices.”

He nodded. “Well, feel free to keep it in case you do.” His attention was redirected from her to a Chikorita who had recently entered the line, and Grace decided now was probably a good time to leave.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━  
Rylan wasn’t at the link shop. Then again, neither was the shopkeeper. There was a sign attached to the booth, but it was just about as helpful as the pamphlet of prices in her bag. Regardless, there was little reason to stick around. Her partner was nowhere near here, so he had most likely already back at the guild.

She began her return slightly rushed, weaving around the occasional cluster of mons. No mon really paid her any attention, and frankly, that was alright. They all had their own things to do, and she had hers. Besides, she’d rather not give anymon a reason to assign her with a bad reputation.

A tiny hand gripped her paw, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned to the mon as she rapidly tried to regain her composure. It was the little Azurill from earlier. “I like your scarf,” he squeaked, the unmistakable glimmer of innocence in his eyes.

“Thanks,” she replied, internally declaring that he was the cutest little thing she had ever seen.

“Hatcher, I told you to stop-“ his big sister began as she emerged out of a nearby crowd, then stopped short when she realized who he was with. “Hang on, didn’t I see you at the Kecleon Market a little bit ago?”

“Yeah, that was me.”

“Well it’s nice to see you again.” She smiled, then extended her hand to shake. Grace returned it, even though it felt odd not to be able to intertwine fingers. 

“Sorry about my little brother.” She turned back to the little bundle of energy, who was currently preoccupying himself by bouncing up and down on his tail like a pogo stick. “He’s still pretty young, and doesn’t quite grasp the concept of ‘stranger danger’ yet.”

“No no, that’s fine,” Grace insisted. The moment the words left her mouth, she had already thought of at least a dozen ways this mindset could backfire. An appropriate awkward silence quickly followed.

“So, where exactly are you heading?” Marill asked, simultaneously changing the subject and saving the conversation from a nose-dive.

“Back at the guild. I have a client there waiting on an item delivery.” 

Marill’s eyes lit up a little. “Wait, you work at the guild?”

“Yeah, I just started today.”

“That sounds really fun,” she remarked. “I wish I could, but I doubt my mother would let me. Especially considering how dangerous it is.” She added the last part a little quieter. 

Grace nodded along, but held her tongue. There was no telling if Marill knew she had overheard the conversation at the shop, and she probably wouldn’t react well to learn somemon had eavesdropped on such a personal topic. Instead, it was her turn to change the subject. “So, where are you going?”

Before his sister could explain, Hatcher bounced up and cut her off. “We’re gonna look for my Water Float!”

“A Water Float, you say?” A foreign voice from behind interjected. It was a Hypno, fairly older than all of them, but not by too much. A faint sense of dread began to fill her as soon as he entered the conversation.

“Yeah! It’s my special treasure and I lost it a while ago.” Marill looked as if she were about to intervene, but never did. “Do you know where it is mister?” He turned to the new mon with a look that not even the toughest of explorers could turn down.

Hypno chuckled at the younger's bribery. “I was actually about to tell you that I may have seen it recently.”

Marill looked taken aback. Her brother, on the other hand, looked downright delighted. “You have?” He was barely given anytime to respond before he began bouncing rapidly right in front of his face. “Tell me tell me tell me tell me pleeeeeaasse!!”

“Alright I will, just calm down for a second.” Fortunately, his words subdued Hatcher’s restlessness, at least partially. The little mon was practically vibrating from anticipation. 

“Don’t quote me on this, but I believe I saw it somewhere on Mt. Bristle.”

“Mt. Bristle?” Marill asked, puzzled. “But that’s almost two and a half hours away from here, and neither of us have ever gone there. How would it even get there in the first place?”

Hypno just shrugged. “Beats me, but that *is* the last place I saw it,” he stated.

Hatcher bounced up to his sister, displaying a very similar look from earlier. “Come on, we have to go my Water Float. Come on, please?” Marill seemed to be considering her options, and hadn’t caved to her brother’s pleas quite yet. 

“If you are going, I do suggest I come with,” Hypno added. “Mt. Bristle can be very dangerous for those who aren’t prepared. So what do you say?”

Marill stared into her brother’s eyes for a few moments longer before finally letting out a sigh. “Alright, we can go look there.” Hatcher responded with a shrill scream of excitement that Grace has no way to prepare for.

He continued on loudly thanking Hypno before Marill turned to her. “I don’t think I’ve caught your name.”

Grace hesitated a little, but hopefully not enough to be noticeable. “It’s Grace.”

“That’s a nice name,” Marill stated. “Mine is Abella.”

“Come on! Let’s go!” Hatcher had already bolted several yards in the direction of the crossroads, his enthusiasm still clear as ever. Hypno was closer to his side, smiling about something.

“Okay, just give me a second.” Abella ran after them, not as quickly as her brother, but still a decent pace. 

“Good luck on finding your Water Float!” Grace called after them.

“And good luck on your item retrieval!”

The item retrieval. That had completely slipped her mind. Oh God, what would Chatot say if she was late? As she dashed back to the guild, her mind raced with the possibilities of how the day would end. None of them would end up being accurate.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━

Chatot, who was waiting on the second floor alongside the client, spotted her as soon as she ran down from the first floor. Once she made it to the ground she stopped, completely winded but successful. “Sorry I’m late,” she panted between breaths.

He didn’t look upset. In fact, he almost seemed pleasantly surprised. “You’re not.”

She paused. “Wait, I’m not?”

“No,” he responded. “In fact, you’re rather early.”

“But you said to be back by sunhigh.” She glanced out the window nearby. From where she stood, the sun wasn’t visible, but she could imagine it had left its post in the middle of the sky.

“It was just a little bit of pressure to motivate you to finish quickly,” he reassured. “Now, if you didn’t return until after sundown, then we’d be having a very different conversation.”

“You do have the pearl, right?” the client, a Spoink, asked.

Grace nodded, then grabbed the pearl out of the bag with her paws and set it on the ground. Their expression instantly brightened as they picked it up, placing it back on their head. 

“Thank you so much!” they exclaimed. 

“It was nothing.” Well, the expedition wasn’t nothing, but it was definitely easier than what she had feared. The other day, Sarah had warned her about the Infecteds, mindless mons who would brutally attack anything that moved. Fortunately, she and Rylan hadn’t even encountered one.

Spoink had begun to dig through a bag of their own, pulling out as decently sized bag of coins and handing it to her. The contents inside made a few small clinks, not unlike the bag of coins Abella had given Kecleon. “Here you go, 300p.”

Grace held onto the bag awkwardly, still trying to figure out how to hold things with paws. “Thanks.”

“No problem!” 

Chatot waited until the client was out of earshot before turning back to Grace. “Let me see the bag for a second,” he commanded.

She didn’t necessarily like where this was going, but the last thing she wanted to do was make him mad. After a quick second of hesitation, she set the bag down at his talons. He picked it up, turning it upside-down and letting the multicolored coins spill out on the ground, before sorting through them.

“Um, what are you doing?” Grace wasn’t sure if this was the wisest thing to ask at the moment, but her curiosity got the better of her. Regardless, Chatot made no indication that her question upset him. 

“Just taking 20% of the reward,” he replied without looking up. “We have to pay for the guild somehow.”

*But I earned that money.* She didn’t dare say it out loud, but instead just let him finish. When he was finished, there were two piles of coins, one significantly larger than the other. He pushed the large one back into the bag, and moved the smaller into a bag of his own. “There,” he confirmed, sliding the bag back to her, “240p, for your hard-earned work.”

Grace dropped the smaller bag into hers. It hit the bottom of it with a muffled clink. Then, she moved onto the next item of business. “So, do you know where Rylan went?”

“Over by the Outlaw Notice Board, picking out a fairly easy fugitive for your next task.” He pointed out a wing to the other board, one that she hadn’t seen before. Rylan was indeed over there, practically in plain sight. She hadn’t the slightest idea how she had missed him.

When she padded over to his side, he didn’t acknowledge her presence. *He’s still mad at you, what did you expect?* Nothing could have stopped that thought from coming to her. But maybe it was the truth…

“Hey guys!” called out Asher as he approached. Grace called out a similar greeting, while Rylan only made a disgruntled noise. 

“So, you guys picking out an outlaw to track down?” The three of them already knew that answer, but it was a fairly decent conversation starter.

“Yeah,” Rylan responded, not turned away from the board. “Chatot wants me to find an E-ranked outlaw.” He let out a sigh, then looked over his shoulder. The co-guildmaster was preoccupied with another team, and didn’t see the annoyance he had stored in his gaze.

“So what outlaws have you found by now?” 

He turned to her, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He mouthed a silent “didn’t see you there” before continuing, “Not much. The only things E-ranked that still have a decent reward is a Chingling who was last seen in Drenched Bluff.”

Asher seemed satisfied at the choice. “Well, you guys were just at Drenched Bluff, so that sounds like a great place to start!”

Rylan, however, didn’t shared his enthusiasm. “Yeah, we were just there, so we should pick out a different one.” His words were slower, and all sounded forced. The next part, however, was hushed, and laced within a growl. “Besides, the only other E-ranked outlaws on here all have shitty rewar-”

Asher cleared his throat, cutting him off, and made a motion with head towards Chatot. He had finished with the other team, and risked a glance at the three of them. His face was unreadable, but his beak and neutral expression could definitely be factors.

A small chiming from inside the walls returned her attention to the board. Rylan seemed exactly as confusioned as she was, but the look in Asher’s eyes declared he knew exactly what was going on. “You two might want to stand back,” he warned. 

Grace nodded and backed up a little. Rylan, on the other hand, asked, “Why?”

Suddenly, the panel flipped, revealing an empty and less worn side of the board. Grace repressed the urge to jump back a few feet, but still flinched regardless. Rylan’s fur stood on end, but flattened almost as quickly as it had risen. Asher was completely unfazed. 

“What, was that?” she asked, still a little stunned.

Asher chuckled. “Oh, that? Sandslash is just adding a few more recent outlaws to the list.” He drew in a breath, as if to prepare a lengthy explanation. “See, the Outlaw Notice Board and Job Bulletin Board are both set on revolving panels, so while the-”

“That’s nice,” interjected Rylan, cutting him off.

“But, you didn’t let me finish.”

“I know.”

Before Asher could protest anymore, the panel flipped back. More flyers cluttered the board, most in better shape than some of the previous ones. 

“Looks like the Chingling quest is gone,” Rylan grumbled, and began to search for another paper.

“Well, that’s good,” Asher imputed. “It means that somemon else already caught the culprit.”

Rylan turned back from the board, visibly annoyed. “And how exactly is somemon else stealing my reward a good thing?” 

Grace wasn’t paying attention as they continued bickering, and instead was scanning for a flyer of her own before Rylan said or did something they’d both get in trouble for. Judging by the fact that Chatot had recommended the E-rank, it was probably a good idea to search for a weaker looking foe. As she looked, her eye caught a different flyer, and she felt her blood run cold.

“Hey Asher?” It was all she could do to fight off the panic in her voice.

“What?” He asked, putting his argument with Rylan on hold.

“You said that *all* the mons on this bulletin board are outlaws, right?”

“Yes, why?” 

“Because I just saw one of them in the town square.”


	6. Urgency

“What?!”

Asher made no attempt to hide his disbelief and fear. Rylan, on the other hand, seemed more intrigued. “Who was it?”

Grace didn’t answer either of them, instead ripping the flyer from the board and laying it on the ground. It was a fairly accurate drawing, most likely done by a professional. And considering she had seen the very mon depicted on the flyer less than half an hour ago, the image of him was still fresh in her mind. But judging sheerly by the actions and tone he had displayed, she would have never guessed that Hypno was an outlaw. Neither would Abella and Hatcher- oh gods, Abella and Hatcher. What was going to do to them?

As her mind scrambled for details, she hadn’t seen Asher walk over to her side and read the flyer for himself. “Wh- Grace, that’s a C-ranked outlaw!” he exclaimed after a few seconds. “How did you even make it out unharmed?”

“What’s going on here?” Chatot had finished dealing with that other team, and now flew over to the three of them, betraying only a mild concern.

He took one look at the flyer and shot a disappointed glance at Rylan. “Shinx, I believe I told you to find an E-ranked outlaw.”

“No-no, I picked it out,” Grace interjected. He shot an equally disappointed look at her. Panic rose within her, and her next words slipped out before she could catch them. “Only because I just saw him and I know exactly where he’s going.” She paused. She had already said too much, but there was one important detail that couldn’t be overlooked. “And he… he took a pair of children with him.”

“What!?” This time, it was Chatot’s turn to cry out in alarm.

“Yeah, he told them that he’d help them find an item of theirs, b-but I didn’t know he was even dangerous until the Notice Board updated.” She added in the last part rushed, in case he had found a perfect reason to yell at her, specifically for not letting anymon else know about this situation until now.

But if the co-guildmaster was agitated in any way, he didn’t display it. “Well, thank you for telling me as soon as you could.” He sounded a little bit distressed, but not angry in the slightest. Thank Gods. “Can you tell me where and when you saw him?”

“In the town square about fifteen minutes ago. He said something about Mt. Bristle, so I think that’s where he’s heading.”

He nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I’ll need to contact the authorities-”

“We can take him.” Rylan’s words took her, and the rest of the group, completely by surprise. Grace half hoped he was joking, but the look in his eyes told her it was genuine.

Chatot ended up being the one to break the silence. “I’ve already told you not to bite off more than you can chew, but especially for an outlaw mission.”

Rylan scoffed. “It doesn’t sound that hard. All we need to do is track down the guy and beat him up. It’ll be easy.”

He paused, before his expression changed. “Perhaps, but I’m not going to allow you to.” Asher, who seemed to recognize exactly where this conversation was going, took a few tentative steps back. 

“But why?”

“Because you’re not ready yet.”

Sparks began to ripple along his pelt, and his voice grew louder. “And what makes you say that?”

In response, Chatot began to fluff up his feathers, creating the illusion that he was far bigger than he actually was. “I have worked with teams of apprentices for over 15 years, and I have a good idea of when those teams are truly ready for more challenging missions. Embarking on that mission will only set yourselves up to fail. And the consequences-”

“Oh, who cares about the consequences?!” More sparks began to appear. “Besides, what if we *did* happen to be better than all those other teams?”

“*You lower your voice right now, young man.*” His words were little more than a harsh whisper, but they carried just as much rage as the younger apprentice’s did.

“Is that a threat?” He made no indication that he was the least bit intimidated In fact, he almost seemed to be enjoying it.

“Please stop it, both of you!”

It had been merely a recurring thought, but somehow she realized she had spoken it aloud. They both froze, before daring to break eye contact with each other and turning to her. 

Her anxieties began to bubble within her, reminding her that now was possible one of the worst times to say something wrong. But she managed to push them aside for the time being. “Listen, I’ve talked with those kids, and they are easily some of the nicest mons I’ve met so… It would really kill me if either of them got hurt for whatever reason. I mean, you can send the authorities if you want, but just please stop fighting and staring acting.”

There were a few brief moments of stillness before Chatot sighed, and some faint expression decorated his face as he turned away. Grace felt her heart begin to quicken as she, yet again, prepared for a bout of yelling.

“I’ll give you one hour to find them. After that, I’ll contact a few of the higher-ranked teams and alert them of the situation.”

“R- really?” She wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or terrified. “Thank you!” she replied regardless. 

“Just please be careful.”

“Well then what are we waiting for?” Rylan had already scaled several stairs as he called out from above. 

“Right, I’m coming!” she answered, racing up the stairs. As they both dashed up the stairs and out of the guild entrance, she prayed that the two of them would make it before anything bad were to happen.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━

“The sun’s gonna start setting soon.” Although there were still a few hours before it actually did, Grace’s statement was a true one.. The great blazing ball of warmth had begun to flee its perch at the top of the world, but it had yet to dive into the sea towards the west. Regardless, the shadows cast by the parched rocks of Mt. Bristle had grown taller than they had been when the two of them first entered.

“I’ve noticed,” Rylan responded, disgruntled. 

“And we still haven’t found any sign of Hypno, or Marill and Azurill,” she added, a little fearful.“Or any other teams, for that matter.” Their hour had long since end, probably just when the base had come into view. 

“Well, then we'd better keep looking.” He quickened his pace even more, and she struggled to keep up. The conversation died almost as quickly as it had begun. Just like any conversation she tried to have with him. She has really tried to converse with him over the past few days, making attempt after desperate attempt to find a way to get on his good side. But so far, nothing has worked.

“What?” In her absent-mindedness, she hadn’t realized she had been staring at him.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” she stammered, fluttered. She paused. For once, he was the one to talk first. She drew in a breath. Now or never. “It’s just… the way you spoke up against Chatot. I mean, that… probably wasn’t the best thing to do in that situation.”

“He was being an asshole, and I for one think he deserved it.” 

Bad idea. She shook her head. Maybe explaining her goals would help things. “Well, maybe it would be better if we...tried to stay on the better side of mons. So if there is ever something you need help with, they’ll be a lot more willing to assist.”

“And just let them boss you around? No thanks.” 

Discouragement began to well up in her. But there had to be something that he would agree on with her. She opened her mouth to make another attempt when she noticed something out of the ordinary.

The grey rocky spires of the mountain all looked the same. Something told her that she had seen something like this before, but she wasn’t sure. But it wasn’t the sights that were off. When her claws weren’t tapping against the ground, she could hear something else. Almost like labored breathing. “Wait a second-” She started, before something that caught her eye only confirmed her suspicion. “Hey, somemon’s hurt over there!”

Just a hint of blue fur stuck out against the gray terrain. That, however, was enough to cause her to sprint over to the rocks where an injured mon lay, dying, unconscious, or both. But her panic only grew when she realized who it was. 

“Oh my gods, Abella!” 

The small blue mon lay asleep on the ground, in such a position to hint that she had fallen. There was no sign of injury on her pelt, but internal injuries could definitely be a culprit. All of this barely registered in Grace’s mind, as she frantically tried to shake the mon out of her slumber. “Abella, please wake up- oh no please don’t be dead!”

Rylan sounded as if he was about to object. But before he could, his partner’s frenzied tactics seemed to be working, as Abella began to groan quietly and weakly opened her eyes. “Ow… Wh-what happened?” She asked, fighting off the effects of sleep. She opened her eyes a little wider. “Grace? What are you-”

“Oh thank gods you’re okay!” Grace exclaimed. Even though she was awake, her surge of fear still lingered. “I came as quickly as I could I mean I was so worried about you when I found out about Hypno and I was terrified he was going to hurt you- you’re not hurt are you-an-and Hatcher’s probably in danger too so we gotta find him before-”

“Oh goodness, um, you think you could slow down a little?” The confused and concerned look on Abella’s face reminded Grace that A) she had just woken up from something, so she probably couldn’t have understood her if she tried, and B) she had been rambling for about 25 seconds without stopping to breath. As she paused to catch her breath, Abella turned to Rylan. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but… who exactly are you, and where are we?”

“I’m the other half of Team Omega, and we’re here to beat up an outlaw,” he answered for the both of them.

Abella still seemed unconvinced. “What do you mean-” Then, her eyes widened slowly, as she began to recall the past few hours. “Wait, where’s- Hatcher!” She leapt to her feet in a newly formed panic. “Where is he?!”

“That’s why we came,” Grace explained, slower than before, “that Hypno we met in the square… he’s actually an outlaw.”

“What!?” Her ears turned back into her head, but her fur began to rise as she realized. “You mean… is he going to hurt Hatcher?” She asked, her voice rising.

“Perhaps.”

Grace doubted her partner’s comment was necessary, but didn’t dared correct him. Instead, she just continued with Abella.“Uh, when was the last time you saw either of them?”

She paused, and scanned the area for a few seconds. “It was right around here.” Her reply was slow, as if recalling the details as she spoke it. “Hypno wanted to speak to me alone for a minute and…” her face twisted as she failed to recall anything else. “I can’t remember what happened after.”

“Probably knocked you out cold.” Rylan stated, not particularly harsh, but rather fact-of-factually. Then his expression changed. “You at least got any leads as to where he’s heading?”

She stopped and scrunched her eyes closed, yet again attempting to recover important details. “I think he said something about the peak?” she answered after a lit bit.

“Great, we’ll start there,” He proclaimed, and began walking towards the peak. Grace noticed his departure a few seconds later, and fell in line behind him.

“Wait!” Abella wasn’t done talking yet. 

Grace stopped, giving her full attention to the mon. “What is it?”

Abella drew in a breath, then continued. “I don’t mean to intrude, but this is my younger brother we’re talking about. And I’m not just going to sit around and do nothing if he’s in danger. So please, let me help.” The look in her eyes betrayed her fear. Fear that her little brother, who likely meant a lot to her, was in danger.

“Sure,” Grace answered without hesitation. Abella definitely knew the situation the best out of all of them, and should there be a fight, three mons were certainly better than two.

Her eyes sparkled with gratitude. “Thank you so much. I’ll make sure to pay you back for this.”

“Well, I’m mean, that’s not exactly necessary-”

“No no, I insist.”

“If you two are all sorted out, then let’s go,” Rylan interjected, cutting them off before it warped into an eternal exchange of gratitude. “Hatcher isn’t going to go save himself.”


	7. Deception

After another half hour of searching, there was still no sign of either of them. As the sun dipped lower and lower, it was clear that Abella was growing desperate. Her voice shook a little more each time she called out for her little brother. By now, she was either on the verge of a panic attack, a bout of sobbing, an outburst of rage, or some combination of the three. Grace couldn’t recall whether or not she had a younger sibling, but even if she did, she couldn’t remember them.

Memories. God, why did they have to be so fleeting? In the silent spaces of her day, she had tried to figure out who she was, and what her past life was like. All that had given her was a few loose theories and a headache. They were just... gone. Part of her wished they were just locked up, and she’d find the key soon enough. But she feared it wouldn’t be that easy.

The only thing she had managed to make out of her faded memories was a feeling. A feeling that somehow, she had been here before. Not specifically here, but in this world. There was no other explanation. Taking job requests, exploring dungeons, somehow it almost felt natural. But why?

When Abella called out for her brother once again and Grace shifted back into focus, she noticed something. The lighting on the rocks had drastically changed. Something in her told that she had, in fact, seen this lighting on these rocks before. A gut feeling warned her that this landscape was familiar. But she had never been here before, how was that possible?

Rylan right ear turned and he froze. “Abella be quiet,” he commanded. His voice was lowered, and his eyes searching the terrain. 

“Wh-” she paused, but only for a moment. “My brother is lost in the mountains and you-“

“No seriously shut up, I heard something.” 

“Wait really?” Grace and Abella ending up saying at the same time.

He didn’t answer. He simply stood, ears pricked up for a sign. Every now and again, a small wave of sparks would roll along his pelt, but these were different than the ones that would appear when he was agitated.

“There’s two mons somewhere over there,” he stared at last.

“Really?”

“You found them?!”

He let out a huff of exasperation. “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know, but we don’t want to let them know we’re here so just *stop talking for a minute.*” He whipped around to the two of them, a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

Once he saw them both nod, he turned back to where he had stopped earlier. A few more small sparks rippled, and he ran off in that direction.

Grace and Abella briefly exchanged glances before chasing after him, sprinting to catch up with him. Even though she had only known him for a week, she had quickly learned not to question him, at least while he was in action. There might have been a chance that Abella felt the same, but it was most likely she was too preoccupied with her brother’s safety to question him.

Sometimes he would pause, let a few more sparks flare up, and continue on his trail where he left off. About every other stop, he’d turn back to make sure they hadn’t fallen too far behind. Which was highly considerate of him, given the circumstances. His agility and swiftness in this uphill run far surpassed either of theirs. It wasn’t impossible to imagine him with a life in a place like this.

Eventually he made a dead stop and remained there, even after the girls had caught their breath. “Any idea where they are?” asked Abella. The desperation she had displayed earlier had decreased with exhaustion, but it was still present. 

“They’re close, so keep your voices down,” he responded. His ear rotated to the left almost immediately. Two voices could be heard from that same direction. 

“I thought you said my Water Float was over here.” Abella let out a gasp when she recognized her brother’s voice, and almost called out for him before Rylan stopped her, quietly warning her not to give away their position quite yet. Grace, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t sound terrified, or in pain. It wasn’t too late after all.

There was a moment of pause before Hypno responded. “Calm down kiddo, we’ll find it.” He hardly sounded any different than he did back in the square. Maybe… maybe there was a chance that he *wasn’t* bad after all. But didn’t he knock out Abella not too long ago? 

“Well then where is it?” His voice was lined with exhaustion. “My feet hurt and I wanna go home.”

“Look, when I said I knew where it was, I meant to say I had a general idea of where it would be.”

Rylan had crept up to a rock a few yards away, barely peeking over it. Grace and Abella soon joined his side, in an attempt to make sense of the scenario before their eyes. 

The three of them were further away from the outlaw than previously thought. But even from where they stood, it was plain to see that Hatcher remained unharmed. And Hypno betrayed no sign that he intended to harm.

Hypno motioned to the steep rock wall behind him. “See that hole over there?” It was difficult to see from where she was, but there was, in fact, a hole. It was rather small, probably too small for she or any of her teammates to even attempt to slip through. Hatcher, on the other hand…

“Now, there’s a rumor about a bunch of treasure in there,” Hypno continued, crouching down to his height. “And if I had to guess, I’d say your Water Float is probably there as well.”

Hatcher’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Hypno smiled. “Yes, really. All you need to do is go find it.” He stood back up. “And maybe, you can bring out some of the other treasures you find in there, okay?” He added, almost a little quieter. 

“Got it!” Hatcher ran over to the hole and squeezed into it without a second thought.

It was then that Grace realized where his motives truly lie. She turned to Abella to warn her, but she was gone.

“Hey!” Her voice rang out against the rocks. Hypno whipped around to be greeted with a concerned and angry sister. From where she stood, Grace couldn’t see her, but she was certain her body language would betray her rage. Rylan swore something under his breath, most likely about how she was supposed to wait a little bit longer.

Something about the scenario seemed vaguely familiar, even more than before. A few words of warning started to form, but she was cut off by a growing rumbling sound. She then watched, in horror, as the small cavern trembled violently, before it collapsed entirely. With Hatcher inside.

Grace held back a pained gasp. A heavy silence followed the rumbling, one that was quickly broken by Abella’s frantic cries. “Hatcher!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. There was no response. “Hatcher are you okay?!” She cried louder. 

“I’m fine!” His voice was muffled, and there even seemed to be a hint of pain wozen in his words. But he still sounded just as cheerful as ever. 

“Oh thank Gods,” she sighed loudly, relief pouring out in each word. “Just… stay put, I’ll figure something out.” 

“Okay!” 

She then turned to Hypno, all of her fear turning to rage. “What on earth did you want from him? From us?!” 

The tension in the air had grown tenfold. Rylan turned to Grace looked her dead in the eye. Without saying anything, he took off towards Abella’s side. Grace froze in a mild surprise, then sprinted to catch up with him.

Hypno looked over at Abella, far from matching the aggression she displayed. “Calm down, I haven’t hurt him, and I have no intention to.” He paused, glancing over to where the cave entrance once stood. “I’m just helping this child find an item of his, nothing more.”

“I wouldn’t say that if I were you,” Rylan snapped, skidding to a halt beside Abella, “because I am certain you had at least something to do with the cave collapsing.”

“And you’re a wanted outlaw!” Grace added once she caught up.

“Where’s your proof?” He replied. It was hard to see, but his tone hid a hint of annoyance.

Rylan stepped forward, his stumped tail lashing. “Well last time I checked, when most mons want to help others, they don’t do things that would give others a reason to be suspicious of them.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, I don’t know, things like *knocking out their sister,* or *having them steal from a den of thieves* are both pretty high on the list.”

He let out a laugh, his patience clearly starting to wear thin. “Oh, aren’t you clever? But I guess it takes one to know one, right?”

That seemed to cut right through him. His claws dug into the rocky ground, and he bared his teeth in a snarl. 

“What is he talking about?” asking Abella, questioning the thing that Grace was too nervous to put into words. 

If he heard the question, he chose to ignore it. “Cut the bullshit. We didn’t come here for tea and sympathy. We came to kick your ass and turn you in.”

Hypno sighed, turning his eyes away from them. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.” When he turned back, they were glowing a faint green color. “But if you want a battle, then you’ve got one.”


	8. First Blood

Grace’s heart began to pound in her chest. She’d never been in a fight before. Sure, she had watched a single squabble this morning. But spectating and participating were two completely different things. 

But before she could object, Hypno let loose a beam of energy, heading straight to them. Rylan’s fur began to spark up violently, and she jumped back in alarm when the electricity leapt out towards the beam. Abella joined in as well, firing a round of bubbles, rushing through the air like bullets. The attacks collided in midair, briefly battling for dominance before neutralizing the other in a blast.

Rylan growled, and ran directly at him even before the blasts subsided. Something glimmered in Hypno’s eyes, and an unseen force caught him in midair, throwing him backwards with tremendous force. He skidded against the ground a few times, before catching himself with a claw and unleashing another bout of electricity. Hypno raised his hand in the air, creating a translucent forcefield of light. The attack rolled right off of the barrier, directing the pulse to the left and causing it to strike a nearby bolder. 

Grace, a little unnerved by the sudden fray, simply stood and watched, dumbfounded. In the barrage of forces, neither of them were given the opportunity to think. The fighting style they both showcased was unlike anything she had seen before in the three days she had been in this world.

For one, the only opponent she had seen Rylan face was an Infected Machop. She recalled that it had charged at him, but soon fled after a couple of scratches to the nose. She had presumed then that all creatures in this world fought through sheer physical force. However, the last ten seconds threw everything she had gathered about battles on its head.

“Hey!” Abella ran over to her side, pushing her behind a nearby rock as Rylan and Hypno exchanged a few more attacks. “You alright?” 

“Yeah, sorry,” she apologized. “I’ll try, it’s just that I’ve never been in a battle before.” Something in the back of her mind disagreed with the statement, but she pushed the feeling aside.

Abella blinked. “What, are you like an only child or something?”

“Uh, yeah?” How those two topics were related were beyond her.

She sighed, and took a peek from behind the rock. Based on the sounds alone, it was impossible to determine who was winning. “Well, in most cases, using your claws or teeth is a good place to start,” she said, turning to her, before turning back to the fray. “But this guy’s probably not going to let you get close.” 

“So what can I do?”

Her tail twitched, and her ears flattened. “Don’t quote me on this, but I think your kind can breath fire or something like that,” she replied distractedly.

Grace nodded along, but it wasn’t until a few seconds later that she finally processed the information. “My kind can what?!”

Abella didn’t answer. She instead leap out from behind the rock and ran back into the fight, charging up a different attack and flinging it at Hypno with an effort. It seemed similar than her first one, but stronger. 

Hypno, rather preoccupied with Rylan, didn’t see the attack coming until it was almost too late. He jumped away at the last second, and instead of the pulse of water being a direct hit, it hit his arm. Rylan leapt at him with bared fangs, but he managed to avoid that attack all-together. 

Grace remained behind the small boulder, risking glances at the battle every now and then. What on earth *could* she do. She had just figure out how to run on four paws earlier that day, and even then she wasn’t the most agile. Abella had warned that Hypno probably wasn’t going to let her get close, which he displayed well against Rylan. And it wasn’t like she could just breathe fire at him; she didn’t know how to! 

But she had to help in some way. The job of a rescue team was to rescue those in need, not to hide in the face of danger. She drew in one last breath before rejoining the fight.

The second she took a step forward, Rylan was slammed against the rock face behind her, the force of it indenting onto the gray stone. He then leapt back to his paws, shaking out his pelt and spitting out some blood in his mouth. But the most unnerving part about him was the fact that he almost seemed exhilarated from the battle.

His eye caught hers, and they instantly narrowed. “You gonna help now?”

“Hi, uh, yeah. I just… I’m don’t really how to fight.”

He paused, confusion filling his eyes. “What do you mean you don’t know how to fight?”

“Look, remember when I said I didn’t remember anything?” She fought the urge to take a step back, in case his aggression cared on from the battle.

Instead, he just let out huff. “Listen, just do anything you can, and then later we-“ He cut off when his gaze traveled back to the battlefield. 

Abella stood a few feet away, catching her breath. Her pelt wasn’t as dirty as Rylan’s, but she still bore signs of a struggle. She held her stance for a moment, trying to predict her opponents next move. But Hypno was nowhere to be seen. 

“You alright?” Grace asked.

She took a second to catch her breath.“Yeah, I’m okay.” She ran over to their side, somewhat slower than she had in the past. A twinge of guilt pricked Grace when she saw a thin cut in her ear. “What about you?”

“Fine.” Rylan shook out his pelt, producing a small cloud of dust. Grace instinctively squinted to prevent the airborne dirt from reaching her eye.

She then turned back to Abella. “Where’d he go?”

“I dunno.” She kept glancing around the area. “He just straight up disappeared.” Her ears turned back. “I just hope Hatcher’s okay,” she added quieter. Her tone was fairly neutral, but her eyes danced with fear.

“Well, there’s probably a cave system or something. He’s probably okay.” Grace wasn't too certain if her reassurance was true, or helpful. Abella smiled weakly and nodded. 

Sparks rippled along Rylan’s pelt again, longer and weaker than the times he was preparing an attack. But this time, his eyes filled with mild surprise, which soon turned into determination. “I’ve got a plan, but we’ve got to hold out for a little longer.” There was a pause before more sparks formed, almost in response. “I suggest we find this bastard before-“

An unseen force grabbed Grace and threw her through the air, slamming her into the rocks. She tried to scream in pain, but all the wind had been driven out of her. Her allies cried out in alarm while she weakly fell to the ground. As the world spun around her, something else grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.

“You know, I never imagined a handful of kids to be so *troublesome.*” Hypno’s voice was sharp with irritation now. His grip on her throat revealed little weakness, holding her tight even as her limbs flailed helplessly. 

“Put her down!” Abella called, desperation heavily woven in her words. “She hasn’t done anything to you!”

“You’ve clearly never heard of blackmail before,” Hypno answered. 

Grace wanted to scream for help at the top of her lungs, but she could barely manage to catch a weak gasp or two. Stars began to dance in the corners of her eyes. The voices around her were growing more and more distant as her desperation for air grew stronger and stronger.

Sparks began to crackle somewhere nearby. Almost immediately, a different, quieter noise sounded closer. But this one was accompanied by a jolt of pain. A gasp of pain escaped her mouth, and she stopped flailing. It only lasted for a second, but she knew deep in her gut that this was only just the start.

The crackling stopped. “Oh good.” His reply was so calm, it was almost as if he wasn’t choking a mon with one hand. “You *do* know when to give up after all. Because if you didn’t-” she felt herself being thrust forward with a quick motion- “Your little friend here would be in for a world of pain.”

No other words followed Hypno’s threat. The corners of her vision began to turn to black. *Is this the end?* The thought apperated without warning. She desperately wanted it to be a lie, a false accusation to make her feel worse. But as her consciousness began to slip away, and she felt her desperate cries for are growing weaker and weaker, part of her began to accept it as the truth.

Suddenly, the force clamping her throat shut was gone, and she drew in a large gasp. A coughing fit followed soon after, but she could finally breathe again. 

Several voices could be heard now. As she struggled back to reality, she established two things. First, she had somehow ended up lying on the ground. On her side, to be more specific. Second, most of the voices belonged to mons she didn’t recognize. Or at least, mons she didn’t remember.

“Are you alright?”

That voice sounded familiar. She blinked hard a few times to steady her blurred vision. As she fought to her paws, still trying to catch her breath, she let out a weak “yeah” in between gasps.

Chatot sighed, whether it was out of relief or dissatisfaction was debatable. “We’ll discuss this more later, but for now, all that matters is that no one was hurt too badly.”

The voices somewhere behind her were still indecipherable, but she could pick out individual tones. Even before turning around, she could hear Hypno’s voice, and how it now held something else she hadn’t heard before. Defeat. As the clamor of voices continued, she realized this only meant one thing.

Help had arrived.


	9. Highs and Lows

The 7th day of Long Sun

Outside, the dying sun sinking into the sea quieted the world it warmed. The townsfolk would soon retreat to their homes once a blanket of darkness began to cover the world, and their lights went out some time later.

But every night, the Guild of Treasures would remain lively and bright far into the early morning, almost in defiance of the sun itself. That’s how it’s always been, and how it always will be. 

The massive chandeliers of wood and steel drove away practically every shadow in the mess hall. The smell of various foods was almost as overpowering as the voices of the guild members, each trying to make their voices heard over everyone else. 

Sadie had returned to her routine of exchanging tales of adventures with some of the other apprentices. But no matter how loud she spoke, her words never seemed to reach Grace’s ears. The fact that her back was turned toward her, allowing a majority of the table to tune in a bit easier, could be part of the problem. But she still could quite shake the feeling that maybe she was doing this on purpose.

She’d have similar worries about nearly everyone she crossed paths with. *What did they think of me?* the back of her mind would always ask. *Do they think I’m mean? Or annoying? What about weak; do they think I’m weak?* She shook her head, as if to rattle those toxic thoughts out of her mind. Instead, her mind drifted away from Sadie’s speech, and memories of her second day at the guild began to resurface.

Despite his C-ranking, Hypno was a relatively new outlaw. He’d assisted in a handful of robberies, and hadn’t necessarily used children in his plights before. Even though he made it clear that he wasn’t planning to resort to violence (except as a last resort), this incident would definitely increase his sentence. The exact time of his punishment was a secret from the general public.

Hatcher, on the other hand, had somehow managed to escape safely with almost no injuries. Grace had been correct about the cave system, and the justice force had actually ran into him on the way to catch the outlaw. Abella was naturally ecstatic to find her little brother was unharmed. She had graciously thanked Team Omega for helping her save her younger brother. 

However, Chatot was not nearly as happy with the duo’s actions. He’s lectured them for a bit about ‘biting off more than they could chew,’ or something like that. They still received the reward, to Rylan’s delight. She’d even figure out how to make some small flames a few days later, courtesy of the guild’s trainer. But there was no doubt that Chatot wouldn’t forget about this anytime soon. 

Before her mind would generate more doubts, a single, tiny bell rang out toward the front of the room. Almost miraculously, that bell was the only thing that would silence the voices of the near countless members. Because that bell meant one of only two things: an important announcement, or food.

Chatot was perched on the shelf above the stone fireplace, the string for the bell in one of his talons. His watchful eyes scanned the room as the voices began to die down. Grace turned her eyes away, avoiding eye contact at any cost. Once the surroundings grew almost as quiet as the grave, he cleared his throat. 

“Good evening, everymon,” he began. “Hope you all had a good, productive day. I'm certain you all are excited for dinner tonight. But before we begin that, I have a few announcements to make.” There were a few groans of impatience, but they all quickly faded. 

“First off, HAPPI’s brand new Team Badge program is a success.” A massive applause erupted from the guild members, complete with cheers and even a few whistles. “We are in the process of setting up a Warp Tower on the first floor of the guild, and it should be open to the public by the 11th. An instruction pamphlet, as well as all the Team Badges, will also be ready by the 9th.”

Grace joined in the best she could, and made a mental note to pick up one of those pamphlets. The realization that it would serve little purpose to her came only seconds later. Maybe it would be best to ask around once the time to use it came. 

Chatot continued to watch the guild members celebrate, but something had changed about his smile. It didn’t seem nearly as genuine as it had merely seconds ago. A stone cold feeling warned her that something was off, especially when he soon dropped that smile. “The second bit of news is a little less light-hearted,” he continued, a serious look in his eye. 

“I’m certain that you know of the Time Gears on each of the five continents.” 

The side conversations quickly ceased. It was almost as if the entire room held its breath in anticipation. But nothing could prepare them for the words that left his beak. 

“Well, I have recently been informed that the Time Gear on the Water Continent has been stolen.”

The crowd erupted yet again. But this time, it was with anxious murmurs and stifled gasps. Grace was the only one who remained silent. Even Rylan, who was seated at the other end of the table, growled something under his breath. 

Chatot practically had to yell just to be heard. “We still do not know the identity of the culprit, but if you see any suspicious activity at all, please report it immediately. It is entirely possible that whoever it is could strike again.” The last part was almost lost over the side conversations.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━

Tensions remained high that night. The Time Gear, and the mon who stole it, were practically the only things anymon talked about. Rumors formed almost at light speed. By moonhigh, almost a dozen different theories and suspects had been discussed. Grace had little to add to the discussion, however. She barely even knew what a Time Gear was, and she certainly wasn’t about to ask somemon and risk getting mocked.

Sleep certainly took its sweet time to come to her that night. A different issue had resurfaced, brewing a storm of its own in her mind. And the longer it sat there, the stronger the urge was to just tell him and get it over with. 

But what would he say? And more importantly, how would he react? She craned her neck over her side, trying to get a good look at him. Other than the faint rise and fall of his chest, he remained motionless. 

*Tell him now. There’s no risk of anymon listening in.* That thought was indeed correct, but a nagging doubt still stopped her. She couldn’t seem to put it to words, but it was still there. But her desire- no, her necessity- to get this off her chest overpowered her doubts.

“You still awake?”

No response. She sighed in relief. At least now, she’d get a chance to rehearse. 

“Look, I… I’ve been thinking. Forcing you to join the guild was wrong of me.” Hesitation in her words came often, but that’s what happens when you make stuff like this up as you go. “I bet you wish you didn’t have all these responsibilities you have. You probably wish you’d never met me.” She threw in a small, half- hearted laugh, before an even more somber look befell her. 

“But, if you do want to leave… I can ask Chatot to assign me to a different team, and you can go off to do whatever you were doing before we crossed paths. It’ll be like we never met. So… you want to go?” She sighed. Her words seemed convincing enough. But maybe she should ask Asher what he thought, just in ca-

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.” She froze. Oh gods he had heard the whole thing. Oh gods oh gods oh go- wait. Did he just say that he *didn’t* want to leave?

“I mean, I thought about quitting the first night, but only the first night,” he continued, confirming her suspicion. “Then I realized this place was actually a little better than my old life of just roaming. Two solid meals, a safe place to sleep for the night. You even get paid to kick ass.” She could hear him shifting to his paws behind her. “I had my doubts, especially the way I was practically dragged into this. But this is better than what I had before.”

An ember of thankfulness flickered in her heart. Him confirming that he was, in fact, happy here made her feel a little less worse about herself. But there was still something else on her mind she needed to ask him. “Rylan…” She asked, sitting up to look at him.

“What?”

“Am I… am I a bad teammate?”

He paused, then chuckled softly. “Not necessarily. Don’t get me wrong, you’re not the best at fighting, but you are getting better.” She smiled. Maybe all that harshness she had seen before had mostly been surface level aggression.

Her eyes traveled to his necklace. The bit of gold holding the fang in place shone in the moonlight; the same moonlight almost seemed to make the ruin on the stone glow faintly. “You know, when I said I liked your necklace back when we first met, I really meant it.”

“I figured,” he replied. “I was just on edge then ‘cause the last two goons that complimented it stole it and ran off.”

That day resurfaced in her memory, where a few little details began to make sense. “Is that why you looked a little beat up?”

“Yep.” He shook his fur, and little pieces of straw floated to the ground. “To be fair, they both got plenty of injuries to think about.”

They both share a soft laugh. His sense of humor was a little harsh, but it was better than nothing. “Sounds like it’s pretty important to you,” she said, changing the subject.

He hesitated, then gazed down at the floor, his eyes distant as if quickly reliving a memory of his own. “It was actually pretty important to my whole family. The fang’s probably ancient, seeing that no mon really knew who it belonged to. My da- Ebony said he stole the rock from somemon important.” He paused, making direct eye contact with her. Even his sharp yellow eyes seemed less threatening now. “You got a story for that scarf of yours?”

In daylight, the scarf she wore was a bright fuchsia color. But the night painted it a deep purple-ish color. “Unfortunately no. I was wearing it when I first woke up, so it’s probably from my past life. But I do get the feeling that it was gifted to me by a close friend.”

He nodded, before letting out a tired exhale. “Welp, I’m going to bed,” he said, his words interwoven with a yawn as he lay back down in his bed. “Somemon’s gotta catch that Time Gear thief.”

“I don’t think we’re allowed to do that?” 

He chuckled softly. “Worth a shot.” The faint whisper of fur on hay quieted, and his movements stopped almost all together. 

Grace let out a yawn of her own. Exhaustion began to creep in her limbs as she lay back down on her bed. A faint smile decorated her face. *So he really doesn’t hate me.* The thought repeated several times as she remained motionless, waiting for sleep to claim her.


	10. Learning the Ropes

The 9th day of Long Sun

_*“You know, I’m really glad I got to meet you.”*_

When Grace left the mess hall, the early morning sun still shone through the windows, creating long shadows in the central room. A few of the older teams had already beaten her out there. Most were huddled around a few job requests, as if discussing which would be the best to accept. But a few were in line at the information desk at the other end of the room. That’s where she needed to go, before breakfast ended, and the room filled up.

The mon in front of her, a Froslass, had struck up a conversation about pronouns and misgendering with the mon at the desk. They both seemed to be experts on the topic, unlike her. However, it wasn’t long until Chimecho’s gaze eyes briefly met with hers, and they nodded.

“Well, you have a good day, sir!” They said, wrapping up the conversation with ease.

“You too!” He replied, before turning away and heading toward a group of mons near the outlaw board.

They smiled after him, then turned to Grace. “Hi, what can I help you with today?”

“I came to pick up some team badges.” Her words came out with certainty, probably because she had mentally rehearsed it beforehand.

They nodded, glancing down at the massive book on the desk for a split second. “When did you join?”

This question, on the other hand, wasn’t something she completely expected. “The 1st of Long Sun,” she answered after a short bit of thinking.

“Alright, just one moment please.” A faint crimson light danced in their yellow eyes. Without warning, the pages of the book seemed to flip rapidly on their own until it stopped on a page towards the back. It wasn’t completely filled like most of the others she had seen.

Chimeco briefly scanned over the page before looking up again. “You’re Grace of Team Omega, right?”

“Yeah.”

They nodded as a pair of badges floated out of the opened box and dropped into her open bag. “Here you go, two team badges. If you need any help, there’s a guide posted by the Warp Tower in town, or you can always ask me.”

“Thank you!” 

“No problem!” They smiled. She sidestepped out of the line, and they wasted no time greeting the next mon behind her.

The Froslass from before was talking with a Flareon and Houndoom, before all three of them began to climb up the spiral ramp. Grace briefly wondered why they had the wooden, single runged ladder in the first place. No mon really ever used it, and not a lot of mons could.

A few more teams had left the mess hall, and were preparing for the day ahead. She watched as a Smeargle scanned the job request board, before ripping off a few flyers and running over to her teammates. 

It never occurred to her that she could take more than one. But could she accept more than one? Now that she thought about it, she could take multiple, as long as they went to the same place. She drew in a breath, and padded over to the board.

It wasn’t until she got up to the board that she recalled she couldn’t do this alone. All those letters in front of her were just a jumbled mess. But maybe… maybe there was a pattern? There had to be, judging by how this place worked.

Her eyes caught three flyers right next to each other. All three had the same string of letters in the bottom-right, aside from the first symbol. She risked a glance behind her before tearing them off the wall. 

She settled down at a wall opposite of the board, and set down the three papers in front of her. Judging by the semi-hastily drawn images in the top-left corners, it was safe to say the first two were related to certain items. The first flyer had an amber orb inscribed on it; the second, on the other, displayed a pair of red speckled seeds. 

The third, however, had a bust of a Turtwig where the items were in the first two. Her mind immediately jumped to outlaw, but she stopped herself. If this mon really was an outlaw, she would have found the flyer on the other board. Chances were that this was a rescue mission.

Her attention returned to the bottom-right corner. To her delight, the first letter on the second flyer matched the third letter in that sequence. Wait no, it matched the second letter of the second word, that hyphen separating the two was basically a space. 

She knew the second word was ‘rank.’ It had to be. Maybe that could help her figure out which rank this quest was. But how was it spelled again? R-A-N-K, right? Yeah, it was. And the second letter of that was-

A weight dropped in her stomach when she realized she’d picked out an A-ranked mission. She glanced around the room. More mons had filed in, continuing the routine she’d seen several times today. Hopefully, none of them would realize her mistake.

She looked back down at the quests. These flyers served much more of a purpose than for a silly spelling lesson. The mons who crafted these needed help, genuine help. Help that she probably couldn’t give. Somemon else, stronger and more experienced, would have to take these. But who would?

“That’s kind of risky of you to take an A-ranked quest to Mt. Travail.” She jumped a little as the Golisopod read over her shoulder. “Then again, who am I to judge?”

“Wait, really?” Fortunately, her former life must have taught her how to lie on the spot. “I didn’t even see the ranks.”

“Yeah, that’s usually one of the first things you check,” he remarked. 

“Yeah…” she trailed off. She still had to get these to a professional team. But how? Almost as soon as she felt a hint of despair, her subconscious shot out another idea.

“You can have it if you want,” she said, smiling. Internally, she was begging that this would work. If it didn’t, who knows what would happen. Her mind immediately jumped to the *what if’s* and worse cases.

“Really?” He cut off her rambling mind before it could even begin. “Thank you.” He picked up the first flyer with his second, smaller right hand.

“You’re welcome. You take the other ones too.” She added quickly, before he walked away and forced her to talk to somemon else.

He nodded, transferring the first quest to his bag and grabbing the other two quests. There were a few moments of hesitation, before he handed one of them back to her. It was the quest about the Turtwig. “I’m certain you can handle a D-ranked rescue quest in Apple Woods.”

“I certainly hope so.” They both chuckled. He seemed nice enough. She wouldn’t mind it if she was forced to spend more time with him. 

“Well, good luck on your expedition,” he said, as he turned away.

“You too,” she called back. But even as he left, she couldn’t help wonder what his team like. It had to be a good one, or how else could he take an A-ranked quest without a second thought?

She wasn’t the only mon would was watching him. Almost as soon as the exchange was over, a Staraptor flew over to him and perched on his larger arm. The look in both their eyes was unmistakable. And mutual. Those boys had something special in between them, and it was probably for the best she didn’t interfere.

She shook her head. Those two weren’t her top priority. Right now, the best thing to do was find Rylan, go to Apple Woods, and rescue the Turtwig. But where could he have gone?

As if to answer her question, he padded out of the mess hall, among a few younger teams. “You got the badges, right?” he asked, standing beside her.

She blinked once, as she recalled the original reason she had left the mess hall as early as she did. “Yep.” She threw her bag onto her paw in a single motion, before setting it on the ground. “Just give me a quick sec to find them.”

The fact that the badges glowed faintly made her search far easier. But how on earth did they make it all the way to the bottom of the badge in the 2 minutes she had them? She sighed, before reaching in with a paw.

“Yeah, We can definitely-” He cut off mid-sentence. She paused, then turned back from her small quest. His gaze had traveled to the other end of the room. His bobbed tail held completely still. Perhaps there was somemon in the room he’d meet bef-

“YOU!!!” The volume and tone of his voice almost gave her a heart attack right then and there. Any activity in the room had come to a screeching halt. All eyes were on him. But his eyes were focused on somemon else.

A pair of mons, a Koffing and Zubat, were over by the Job Bulletin Board. Surprisingly, they seemed the least thrown off by Rylan’s outburst, even though there was a good chance they were new here. How else would she not have seen them before?

“Um, who is this?” The Koffing asked his conrade, a mixture of confusion and some other emotion in his eyes. 

The Zubat shrugged as he clung to the side of the board. “I might have seen him before, but I dunno.”

Sparks crackled along Rylan’s pelt as his anger increased tenfold. “Wha- You really think you can just steal my necklace and act like nothing happened?!” He stomped over to the two mons, and Grace used this opportunity to scurry over to the stairs.

Something dawned in Koffing’s eyes, and smirk began to form. “Oh wait, you’re that jerk from the beach, aren’t you?”

“Bold words for somemon who got their asses handed to them.” His words were laced within a growl. “What the hell are you even doing here?!”

“Oh don’t you know?” Zubat replied with an awfully sweet smile. “We’re an Exploration Team as well!”

“And what’s so funny about an Exploration Team checking the Bulletin Board?” Koffing added. 

There was a hint of surprise in Rylan’s expression, before his eyes hardened and his ears somehow turned back farther than they already were. “I just could never imagine how crooks like you managed to make an official team!”

Grace’s ears turned back too, as her thoughts raced on without her. Judging by the reactions of the two new members, they might have only crossed paths with Rylan once before. And it had already been established that those were the mons he had fought on the beach the day he and Grace met. 

Sure, it would be at least somewhat rational to react like that if you met the mon who killed your parents. Maybe if you crossed paths the one who stole your mate out from under your nose. But certainly not over an item, even if it was a family heirloom. Gods, why did her partner have to be so eager to start fights? 

A paw touched her from behind, and she let out a small yelp. Thankfully, it was just Asher, who was currently in the process of suppressing a heavy laugh.

“Do you always squeak like that?” he asked in between giggles.

“Only when you decide to pull a stunt like that.” She threw in a slight blow to his shoulder for revenge. She was glad he’d shown up when he did, but he definitely could have chosen a more… discreet way to announce his presence.

The shared laughter, unfortunately, began to die down, leaving only the main attraction in the room. The fear she’d felt earlier resurfaced, deeper below the surface this time. The seed of doubt immediately focused on the outcome, and consequently, the team’s reputation. 

“You alright?” He left his post on the spiral staircase, sitting beside her. 

“Yeah, I’m perfectly fine,” she answered quickly. “Why do you ask?”

She could have sworn his smile wavered for a split second. Before she could confirm her suspicion, he shook his head and exhaled. “You know what? A good friend of mine has to head out of town for a bit, and needs somemon to help fill his post.” He sighed, then looked her dead in the eye. “What do you say we blow this joint and give him a hand?”

“Sure.” For once, there wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in her words.


	11. Sentry Duty

The argument could still be heard from the second floor. It was a bit harder to follow along, however. A few snippets of detail could still be made out, for anymon who wanted to listen from down here. But judging by how empty the room was, everymon else was either already out the door, or watching it go down themselves. At least it didn’t sound like it had escalated into a fight. Not yet.

“So what exactly does your friend need help with?” Grace questioned once her paws hit the loosely tucked cobblestone floor. “And… who exactly is this friend?” she added.

Asher turned back to her without stopping. “You know Diglett and Loudred, right? The mons who usually are in charge of sentry duty?” 

She nodded. Loudred was always by the gate on the very top floor, so they crossed paths on a near-daily basis. Diglett, on the other hand, was a name rather unfamiliar to her. But if he was who she thought he was, then they may have seen each other more than she first thought.

“Well, his dad contacted Wigglytuff the day before and asked that he got the day off,” Asher continued. “He didn’t exactly specify the reason, but he sounded kind of urgent.” 

He stopped right beside a hole in the ground. It looked a lot like the spiral staircase on the other end of the room, but… less official, in a sense. Large rocks, mostly untouched by the sun, lined the hole almost like a fence. There was no wooden ladder, just the ramp that seemed to stretch into the depths of the earth. From where she stood, it was impossible to see the bottom. 

“Pokémon detected! Pokemon detected!” A voice shouted from a metal device that looked similar to a large flower, rooted into the ground. That same voice could also be heard somewhere at the bottom of the hole. 

“Who’s footprint? Who’s footprint?” Loudred’s voice also echoed through the device, but from a different location. 

“The footprint is Skuntank’s! The footprint is Skuntank’s!” The first voice, who she assumed had to be Diglett, confirmed after a few seconds of hesitation.

“State purpose for visiting the guild.”

“Regular guild duties.” This voice didn’t belong to either of the guild employees. Maybe it was the Skuntank that was confirmed to be waiting at the gate.

“And what is your team name?” Loudred almost sounded bored, as if he had already done this a hundred times. Which he probably had, but not since the dawn split the night.

“Skull.” 

No voice answered at first, but she could almost hear the sound of pages turning. “Is the rest of your team with you?”

“No. They’re already inside.” Grace was likely just being paranoid, but the tone that decorated his words almost sounded like a threat. Before she could silently elaborate on that thought, a new one came to mind; who even were his teammates?

“Alright, one moment please.” The rumbling of the opening gate, one that she’d heard many times in a little over a week, echoed through the device. There was a moment of hesitation before the gate began to close. 

Asher let out a quick breath. “So, you still want to help us?” He asked, with a somewhat softer voice than before. 

“Yeah, definitely.” Whatever she was about to get herself into, it was probably better than fretting about whatever Rylan was getting himself into.

His smile somehow grew even bigger than it was before. “Diglett! We’re here!” He called into the device. 

Nothing happened at first. Maybe there was a chance he hadn’t heard them. Maybe the devices were broken in such a way that the second floor couldn’t communicate with the rest of the group. Maybe-

“You’re here!” Diglett popped out of the ground behind them, nearly putting her into cardiac arrest. But to be fair, Asher jumped a little too, she told herself. But between the Hypno quest and the scene upstairs, she doubted she had much room to self-promote herself.

“Yeah, that usually gets new members,” he answered, almost as if he read her mind. “Don’t worry about it too much.” He then turned to Asher. “I take it you found a partner for this.”

“Yup, she just got here last week.” She raised a paw to wave, then quickly questioned whether that was a custom here.

Diglett made a motion that she could only guess was a shrug. “Guess that explains why I haven’t seen her around. Anyways, thanks a bunch for doing this for me.”

“No problem,” they both answered. Their replies weren’t at the exact same moment, but the words overlapped each other.

As Grace smiled at the pleasant little mon, a request of her own came to the front of her mind. “Hang on. On your way out, can you make sure this bag gets to R- my partner please?” She lifted her paw again, this time making sure to catch the strap of her bag. It hit the ground with a soft thump, but the contents inside added a faint clicking noise.

“Sure.” He threw the strap around his head with a single motion. “Where’s your partner?”

“He’s upstairs,” Asher answered for her. “Although you might want to wait until the fight dies down before you start asking around.”

His eyes perked up immediately. “There’s a fight?! Oh man, this I gotta see.” He disappeared into the ground with the bag in tow.

As soon as he was gone, Grace dropped her smile and sighed. Consciously, she knew there was nothing she could do about the fight. But that didn’t stop her mind from inventing countless *what if* scenarios. *God, why am I like this?*

“Hey.” Asher sat down beside her. “You okay?”

She didn’t answer. Several responses formed among the chaos in her mind, but none of them seemed like the very best answer. There were just… way too many things to worry about, even beyond the fight. Especially beyond the fight. Was there a reason she woke up on the beach with no memories a few days ago? Was being at the guild something that she was supposed to do? Or that dream she’d had this morning, how was that important? 

A paw touched her shoulder. “You nervous about sentry duty?” Asher smiled again. He was probably the only mon she’d met that could pull off having front teeth that practically stuck out of his mouth. 

“Uh, yeah.” Somehow, sentry duty had been the one thing she’d forgotten to worry about. “I… was somemon supposed to tell me what to do, or am I just supposed to figure it out?”

He coughed to hide a giggle. “No, don’t worry, I’ve already worked on sentry duty a few times.” He leaned over to the hole. “You just get to the bottom of the hole, and I’ll tell you what to do from there.”

She peered into the hole as well, making a fruitless effort to find the bottom. Her thoughts immediately jumped to the depth and possible contents of the hole. But it had to be safe, right? Right?

“You scared?” 

“What?! No-psh- of course not!” She answered, her nerves getting the better of her. He looked amused, but unconvinced. “Okay maybe a little.”

He didn’t even try to hide his laugh this time. “Don’t worry. It’s not nearly as far down as it looks.”

She leapt over the rock ring onto the spiral ramp. It wasn’t nearly as smooth as the main ramp, but probably because mons didn’t use this as much. “Are you sure?” She looked back at him one last time.

“Positive.” He gave one last smile before he disappeared over the stone circle. From where she was, only the wooden ladder serving as both the entrance and exit was visible.

Grace tore her gaze from where he stood moments ago, and focused on the path ahead. It was cold and worn, and seemed to stretch down into the depths of the earth. She drew in a breath before beginning her trek downwards, praying that Asher was right.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━

Her paws hit the bottom of the hole a lot sooner than she first thought. Seemed he was right after all. However, he failed to mention how little light the tunnels held. At least the hole above helped illuminate the spot directly under it. 

From where she stood, she could just barely make out the hallway stretching on in front of her. Granted, she could see a second, stronger source of light at the end, but it was impossible to tell exactly how far away that was. Or if there were any “surprises” she didn’t see. If only she had a way to light it up…

Her last lesson at the dojo in town surfaced in her memory. One of the instructors, who she believed was a Marowak of some kind, had been training her to harness her fire ever since that first outlaw mission went so well. She learned a lot there, even though the classes started so late at night. 

The first thing the instructor taught them was a simple attack; Will-o-wisp. It was one of the few fire moves that didn’t cause significant damage, was often used exclusively for lighting, and most importantly, it was one of the easiest moves to start with. She had managed to make a small flame in class the previous day. But could she do it again? And without professional help?

She closed her eyes and drew in a breath. *Smell the flowers, blow out the birthday candles.* Her instructor’s words echoed in her mind. This phrase a handful of uses. It could be an aid to calm down an anxious mon or just focus in general. But those eight words were essential for successful fire-breathing. However, the most important part of this particular move was a clear head.

The space in front of her warmed up ever so slightly, and she opened her eyes. A single flame, sickly blue instead of the rich indigo color she’d been aiming for, floated about half a foot away. She frowned. The instructor had managed to make at least five more with ease, and they’d all been bigger. But at least it was better than nothing. 

She tentatively took a few steps forward. The flame moved with her, and while it didn’t completely light up the hallway, it chased away the shadows at her paws. At least somewhat satisfied, she sped up to a brisk walk. 

That light at the end of the hallway grew closer and closer, until she was standing in it. But upon closer inspection, the mid morning sun that leaked into the hole was broken by a criss-crossed pattern of sorts. She looked up, only to find an all-too familiar grate that covered the hole. 

Well, she made it to the grate safely. Now what? She looked around the room, trying to find something that would answer her question.

The dirt underneath her paws was less firm than the dirt in the hallway, but she doubted that was too important. A random hope for secret treasure popped in her mind, but she brushed it aside. It was almost as crazy a thought as finding traps in an official workplace. Besides, if there was going to be anything important, it would be on the walls of the room.

Something on the eastern wall shone sharper than the rest of the stone. Curious, she tiptoed over to the source, stopping to let her eyes adjust from the light from the direct sunlight. Another one of those metal flowers bloomed out of the wall. Her face, along with her small flame, were distorted by the surfaces of its six “petals.” But in the center of the petal was a near-perfect circle with numerous holes poked through it. It wasn’t identical to the one upstairs, but there was a good chance the overall function was the same.

“Hello?” Her voice echoed as it traveled through the device. Several moments passed, but no reply came. She cleared her throat once before calling out again. “Is anymon there?” 

“Hello Grace,” a deep voice answered. Actually, it sounded like Asher trying to make his voice deeper and somewhat failing. Probably just a little prank.

For some reason, she found herself smiling. “Do you do that to everymon you drag down her?” She asked, before immediately wondering if that was too harsh.

“Nah, I’m just giving you a hard time,” he said in his regular voice. “Anyway, we don’t really have to worry about the mons checking out, so we get a bit of downtime for now. Any questions?”

“Just one.” She paused, and laughed a bit to herself. “So, is somemon going to tell me what I need to do, or am I just supposed to figure that out myself?”

“Oh shoot I almost forgot!” There was the faint sound of pages turning before he cleared his throat. “‘Sentry duty is a forgotten but highly important job at the guild. It has been tried and tested to be one of the most successful ways to monitor and register the visitor of this particular guild.’”

“You sound like you’re reading a script.”

There was a quick burst of laughter from both ends. “Well, I mean, it’s the intro paragraph, so I basically am.” What followed was some muttering, more page turning, and about 9 seconds of awkward silence. “Actually let me just paraphrase this next part.”

She nodded, before realizing that he couldn’t she that. “Uh, thanks.”

“No problem.” With that, silence enveloped them both. Grace didn’t try to break it, but her three tails still thumped against the ground. Wait- three tails? She stood and looked to her backside. Sure enough, three tails, all the same color as her paws, trailed behind her. She could have sworn she only had two. But considering past circumstances, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to trust her memory.

“Got it.” Asher finally said, pulling her out of her moment of self- discovery. “You see the grate directly above you?”

She glanced up, even though she already knew what was up there. “Yeah.”

“Okay,” he started, “so at some point today, some mons are going to come to the front gates on the surface. Now, there’s a good chance that most of them know what to do. They’re going to step on the grate, and as soon as you do, let me know.”

She nodded again, before a small doubt floated up to her conscious. “Why do I feel like there’s going to be a catch?”

He coughed, possibly to hide a laugh. “I mean, there’s a bit more to your job. The other part it you’ve got to name the pokemon on the grate by their footprint.”

He hadn’t even finished his sentence before a fresh wave of panic engulfed her, her mind jumping straight to the consequences. What would happen if she failed? Would she have her overall pay reduced? Would they forbid her from having food for the rest of the night, or maybe even the rest of the week? Would she be expelled from the guild? Would she-

“If you can’t name the species right away, you can try to describe them. Worse case scenario, I can just ask them.” Those two sentences practically delivered a sucker punch to her fears. She let herself release a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. But some panic still remained, as did a rather important question that needed a direct answer.

“But, what happens if I fail?” 

There was a quick pause as if he was shrugging. “It’ll take an extra five seconds to check them in, but that’s about it.” There was a quick exhale as his tone shifted. “I probably should have asked you this earlier, but are you still up for this?”

*Smell the flowers, blow out the birthday candles.* She drew in several deep breaths as the phrase repeated itself in her mind. “You bet,” she said, mustering up as much enthusiasm she could salvage from the powerful but short-lived anxiety boost. Was this going to be a major test of her skill? Maybe. She just hoped that she didn’t end up messing up too badly.


	12. A Friend Like You

Rush hour in the guild came and went. Guild members, both official teams and apprentices alike, would eat breakfast shortly after sunrise, pick out a quest or two, and be out the door before the sun doubled its distance from the horizon. Grace usually followed the masses in the same routine. But today was different. Today, she watched the exodus from 20 feet under the floor. Part of her feared the wooden grate would give way, but it held strong.

Not a single soul passed over the grate after the rush. No one really would, until closer to sundown. That, of course, meant that she and Asher had more than enough time to kill.

“Wait, so, how long have you worked here exactly?” Grace asked. For one reason or another, talking to Asher was a lot easier than talking to literally anyone else. Maybe it was because she was getting better at conversations, but it could have been something else.

Asher paused, as if scraping the depths of his mind for an answer. “As of next week, exactly three years.”

“Woah,” She exclaimed, mostly just to herself. A possible conversation starter came to her, and she chuckled quietly. “You must have some pretty interesting stories then.”

“Eh… not really. All the good stuff happens outside of town.”

“Maybe you could tag along on one of my quests?”

He drew in a breath between his teeth. “I mean I would, but I’m not really the biggest fan of battling, and I’d rather not risk it.”

“Well neither am I, but I somehow ended up getting choked by a C-ranked outlaw.”

Suppressed laughter briefly sounded through the device. That joke had been risky, but at least it worked. “Yeah, I mean I guess I can ask Chatot if I can join the upcoming guild trip.”

She paused. “Wait, what guild trip?”

“The guild trip that’s been announced on the News Bulletin for the past month?”

She drew in a breath, feeling like a complete idiot. Yes, she’d probably seen the notice for the trip, but she hadn’t ever properly read it. But how was she going to explain her dilemma? “Well, about that…”

“What?” Had that question been from anymon else, she would have been worried about the possibility of mockery. But even though he hadn’t been the first one to share a secret, she still trusted him. 

“I don’t exactly know how to read.” He didn’t answer at first. Her subconscious braced for potential backlash. But instead, the response she got was something different entirely.

“Nah, it’s okay. I didn’t really know how to when I first joined. You’d actually be surprised how many mons don’t.”

“Was that supposed to reassure me?” She smiled for a couple of reasons.

“I guess?” he replied. 

“Do you know who’s going on the trip?” Grace asked, saving the conversation from a dead end before it even hit that point. 

“Chatot was going to announce that *officially* sometime before the end of the week, but all the staff already know.”

There was a pause as she processed the information she just received. “So, should I have asked that or no?” 

He laughed again. “No you’re fine, I can tell you. As long as you don’t tell anymon else.”

“Aside from my partner, you might be the only person I actually talk to.”

“Yeah that’s fair.” Pages shifted over on his end, but it sounded different than the book he’d used a while ago. “Wigglytuff handpicked a few apprentice teams to go a while back. And it looks like…” The page turning came to an abrupt stop, “you’re in!” 

A bright smile decorated her face, before some other detail came to mind. “Um, where exactly are we going?”

“Foggy Forest. Apparently, there’s a rumor about a big treasure, and the Guildmaster wants us to find it.”

She was about to ask what kind of treasure was involved before she stopped herself. She’d practically asked five questions in a row, and had almost tacked on a sixth. Gods, this was supposed to be a friendly exchange, not an interrogation! Maybe she wasn’t as good at conversation as she first thought…

The natural spotlight that cast on her dimmed drastically. The small flame by her side, which still hadn’t gone away for some reason, became a little more visible in the weakened light. She looked up, to find a large paw on the grate. This only meant one thing: it was time to do her job.

“A- Bidoof, somemon’s at the grate!” She called out.

A few small noises of alarm echoed through the metal flower before he replied, “Do you know who’s footprint it is?”

Naturally, it was difficult to really discern the features of the mon standing on top of her light source. A fresh bout of her earlier fear rose to the surface. “Not- not really?”

“Then just describe them.”

She drew in a few breaths and gave herself a few words of encouragement before looking back up. Soon after, her eyes began to adapt to the change in light, and she could begin to pick out a few important details. “Uh, well, whoever it is has paws of sorts.” She took another quick look. “They’re probably a biped with… pink fur?”

“That’s pretty impressive for your first time.” Wigglytuff’s voice rang through the speaker. Embarrassment shot through her at the sound of her Guildmaster’s voice, but it didn’t last once she processed the words she received.

“Thanks,” she answered, quietly. If either of them had heard it, they showed no audible sign. 

“Alright, one second.” Asher flipped a switch on his end, and a familiar rumbling echoed through the pipes. Light filled the pit again as Wigglytuff stepped off the grate. There was a muted exchange between the two of them, before the gate came to a close.

Once the line went quiet, she let out a sigh. She did it. Granted, that was most likely just a little warm-up, but regardless, she actually did her job right.

Asher must have felt the same way, as he let out a quiet, relieved chuckle. “Great job down there, Grace,” he told her, most likely grinning from ear to ear. 

“Thanks,” she repeated, trying to match the smile he most likely wore. 

“Yeah, I mean, who knew the Guildmaster was going to show up!” 

She froze. “Wait, so that wasn’t some practice exercise?”

“Nope!” he said blissfully. “Now that you mention it, that does sound like a good idea; I could probably bring it up to him after the shift.”

She let out a nervous chuckle, before hiding the rest of it within a cough. “Yeah, good idea.” She shook her head, trying to shift her tone. “I could come with you.”

“Wait really?” A hearty amount of delight was woven in his words. 

“Yeah.” She paused. “I mean, unless you don’t want me to.”

“No, I do want you to come. That would actually be great.”

“Got it,” she answered softly. Even though she felt more relaxed now than she had her entire stay here, her anxiety still lingered. Granted, there was less of it than normal, but it was still there. 

“I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but thank you so much.”

Warmth began to well up in her. “No really, it’s no problem.” 

He didn’t respond right away. She could hear a small huff from the other end, probably accompanied with another smile.

“You know, I’m really glad I got to meet you.”

She froze.

The thoughts in her mind came to a screeching halt. She heard Asher say something else, but it sounded distant. Any response she had prepared withered away on her tongue. Those ten words made her blood run cold. 

“Grace?” He sounded only slightly confused, but not nearly as worried as he could have been. But in his defense, it was probably wasn’t the most courteous of her to just stop talking all of the sudden. What he said wasn’t even remotely unnerving. It was the concrete fact that she had heard those exact words once before that alarmed her. 

“Yeah?” she responded, trying to hide the uneasiness in her voice. There was no way it was just a happy coincidence, but it wasn’t any reason to get anymon else worked up. At least, she hoped not.

“You alright?” No additional emotion, outside of the currently underlying peppiness, had been added to his tone. 

“Yeah, I’m okay.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Physically, she was in tip-top shape. Perhaps she was mentally fine too, just a little thrown off by the shock. But emotionally... maybe not so much.

“Thank goodness,” he said with a tiny sigh. “Got a little worried there for a sec. But I mean, you’re pretty safe down there.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yup! Unless it floods, of course. But Elder Torkoal says that hasn’t happened since the Natural Disasters of ‘82, so you should be fine.”

She smiled weakly to herself, but even that quickly faded as her focus shifted back to her dilemma. Now that she thought about it, there wasn’t anything she could actually do in this situation now. Unless…

She drew in a breath. This would only be the second time she’d pulled something like this. In the end, that first time in her team’s room had worked without any repercussions, and it even yielded a few rewards. But that nagging little voice in the back of her mind, it wouldn’t shut up. It wanted to know what would happen if no one in the guild was truly trustworthy and her secret got out and everymon started making fun of her for it and maybe the authorities would come and take her away for it and-

Stop.

Her heart was racing as if she was on the tail end of a triathlon. Loose dirt stuck fast to her sweaty paw pads. She found herself gasping for air, even though she had barely moved from her spot for nearly an hour. 

Okay maybe she wasn’t as okay as she thought she was. But seriously, why was she so freaked about a dream? It wasn’t even the dream itself, it was the concept of the dreams. 

She sighed. Maybe wasn’t the best idea to stand in the sun for so long. She forced herself to stand on her shaky legs and retreat to the edge of the hole.

The ground was cooler in the shade. Some water wasn’t an immediate necessity at the moment, but it would be appreciated. But even now, she could physically feel the adrenaline gather near her chest. 

This was one hell of an overreaction, wasn’t it? Maybe. There had to be a reason behind the madness. Just another thing for her to figure out. But maybe, someone else would be able to help her- no, this problem wasn’t worth burdening others with. But there was a trustworthy friend right there. No. She wasn’t going to tell anyone. Unless...

“Hey Asher?” She wasn’t going to think about it. Not too deeply, at least. “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

“Go for it.” His tone was softer. Either he was all for listening to her, or he was just bore- 

*No, that’s not how he feels at all. I’m not thinking like that now,* she practically scolded herself, but that probably wouldn’t work in the long run either. She exhaled slowly. Don’t think, just talk.

“Okay, so… sometimes I get these really weird dreams- and they’re short, but really lucid.”

“Like how lucid?”

“Like they’re basically memories, but not really.”

He let out a quick huff. “That’s pretty lucid.”

“Yeah, and that’s not even the weird part.” She knew she was rambling, but this was the only way she could get this issue off her chest without another overreaction. 

“The weird part is that whatever happens in the dream, usually ends up happening in real life.”

“Wait really?” He answered immediately, genuine wonder in his voice.

“Yeah really. At least, I think so. It only happened once-“ she cut off. That dream she had before the Hypno quest resurfaced. The tone in that dream matched up identically to the tone of his warning. She could only guess the words spoken on that day were also the same, but by that point, she had already started to black out. 

“Hang on, when was that first time?” He asked.

“Just now, actually. That’s why I just stopped talking all of a sudden.” 

He didn’t respond at first. She let out a deep sigh of relief. She did it. She actually spoke her mind without over analyzing the living crap out of everything. But now the little voice wanted to know his answer, and exactly how many friendships it would end.

“Woah.” A short huff tagged along after his one syllable response. This would either end fairly okay, or it would go horribly wrong. Either was entirely possible. “You must have put a lot of thought into that, didn’t you?” 

“No, not really,” she confessed, a little quieter. Although she’d spent several sleepless hours pondering that among other issues, this confession was probably the only thing she hadn’t rehearsed in her head beforehand.

He sighed. “But I mean, if we’re sharing secrets now, I guess it’s only fair I tell you mine.”

Now that was an answer she didn’t see coming. She tried to find a decent response, any words dried up on her tongue. 

“You *do* want to hear it, right?” he asked in her silence.

“Wh- yes! Of course yes!” she answered quickly. “I mean, you listened to me,” she added, “I guess it’s only fair that I do the same for you.”

“So, you know how I started working for the guild three years ago?” he started.

“Yeah?”

“Well, I try my hardest to try and meet everyone at the guild. I’ve worked with all the staff, talked with high-ranking teams. And I especially go out of my way to greet the apprentices and newer teams.”

“Is that why you were so friendly with me from day one?” she interjected.

“Yup! I mean, I know what it’s like to be alone and scared in a new place, and I don’t want anymon else to feel like that.” He cleared his throat, as if to get the real story started. 

“Anyways, so about a year ago, I was running a few errands in town, like I usually did at that time. But then, I ran into some strange mon- and ve has looking pretty exhausted, let me tell you. Ve ended up bolting away, but not before ve gave me something and told me to hold onto it for a bit.”

“What was it?”

“A really old map, but I’ll get to that later. Not even a minute before ve ran off, two more mons showed up and asked me if I’d seen the mon. One of them was also kinda tired, but it was more like a fed-up tired than a i-feel-like-i'm-about-to-collapse tired. So naturally, I panicked and said no, and they kept asking around.

“Later that night, after dinner and all that, I couldn’t sleep because Loudred was snoring too loud, and-”

“Hold on, let me stop you right there,” Grace interrupted. “Loudred is your roommate?!”

“Corphish too, but yeah.”

“You have to share a room with him?!”

“Unfortunately,” he deadpanned.

“How do you even get any sleep?” It took all of her willpower to suppress a small fit of giggles, and even then she wasn’t completely successful.

“My dad was a pretty bad snorer too, so I’m used to it.”

“Man, I’m sorry.” This was true for a couple of reasons. She felt bad that he had to try and sleep in the same room as, quite possibly, the loudest mon in the guild. But she also felt bad for laughing. “I mean, if you want to bunk with us for the night, just let me know.”

It took him a second to process her offer. “You’re dead serious?”

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you so much.” He paused. “What were we talking about again?”

“The story with the map?”

“Oh right, yes. Back to that; so I couldn’t sleep that night, so I went out to the main lobby. Normally when I’m up that late, I try to find something that I can do to help. But after that episode in the square, I was kinda curious what the deal with the map was.

“So I snuck out and visited the library in the middle of the night, as you do. And it turns out that map was actually a set of directions to Star Cave!”

“I’ve… never heard of it.” To be fair, she probably had never heard of a lot of things.

“Yeah, most mons haven’t either. But turns out, it was towards the end of another cave- I’m pretty sure it was called Murky Cavern. Both of which were all the way on the Air Continent.” 

A seemingly insignificant detail from the first time they met resurfaced. “I thought you said that you had never been overseas before.”

“Yeah, but I usually don’t tell this story to every mon I pass.”

“That’s fair.” Pretty much everymon had something they didn’t announce to the general public. She briefly wondered if that was the only secret he kept to himself. It was entirely possible, but he would likely only tell her when he was ready. That’s what she was planning to do, after all.

“So the next day,” he continued, “I went to check the prices for a round trip, when I ended up finding that first mon from the day before. Ve mainly wanted to thank me for holding onto the map, and ve told me that if ve hadn’t hid the map, those two other mons definitely would have stolen it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Ve even offered to help me pay for the pass and help me get to Star Cave.”

“That’s awesome!”

“Eh, it wasn’t as awesome as it sounded.” His tone had lost some of its previous excitement. “For starters, I had to lie to Chatot to go on the trip in the first place. I asked him to take a few days off, and when he asked why, I told him it was for family business. I mean, I know it wasn’t a complete lie, but it was still hard.” The regret in his voice was deep-rooted and genuine. There was a chance he still hadn’t apologized. That chance was small, considering his fierce loyalty to the guild, but still.

The regret was replaced by something else entirely in his next words. “But even worse was the fact that the mon that I helped out actually turned out to be the leader of a small group of thieves.”

“Oh.” She drew in a breath between her teeth.

“Yeah. Once we reached a dead end in the cave, those other two mons showed up, and ve told me. Ve told me that the Star Cave wasn’t real. Ve told me it was just an elaborate hoax to rob me.” He let out a sigh, but his tone perked up immediately after. “But plot twist; the cave really did exist! 

“What do you mean?”

“Jirachi actually showed up out of nowhere! I don’t know if she completely knew the context behind that scenario, but she really sent them packing!”

“Wh- hang on. Jirachi showed up?! Like, the Jirachi?”

“Yeah!”

“Wow, that’s just… wow. Sorry for interrupting you so much.”

“Your fine, don’t worry about it.”

“So what happened after that?”

“Well, I thanked her for helping me out with those goons, she said it was no big deal. But then she told me that she was about to go back into hibernation, and wanted to know if I had any last-minute wish requests.”

“Oh my goodness,” Grace said, mostly to herself.

“I didn’t really think I’d actually get to meet her, so I had never really thought about my wish. I mean, there are a handful of things that would have been nice; I could have asked for strength, a good rest, popularity, things like that. But… there was only one thing I truly needed.”

“What was it?” 

“One good friend.”

She hesitated, choosing her next words carefully. “Really? That’s all you needed?”

“Yeah. I mean, I have enough food here at the guild. I’ve got a roof over my head and a good job that pays well. In hindsight, I probably could have wished for fame or strength, or even a lover. But I feel like those are things you need to work for, you know?”

“Yeah.” She wasn’t entirely sure where he was going with this, but she wasn’t about to stop him.

“When I told Jirachi what I wanted, she said it wouldn’t be immediate, and that it would take some time. I personally didn’t care, just as long as I had somemon I could talk to. Like, really talk to. After that, she said that I was a good mon, and she promised me that one day, somemon special would come and be my friend.

“I thought about her promise pretty much everyday. I couldn’t wait to have a real good friend. But until then, I worked my hardest at the guild. As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, I still didn’t doubt her. I kept welcoming every new face like it was my last. I kept believing that they were coming soon.

“Until one day, they finally did.”

“Who was it?” Something in her, something entirely different from the nagging little voice of what if’s, already knew the answer. But his response still sent a wave of warmth throughout her soul.

“You.”

A true smile formed on her face as her hopes were confirmed. “I… I don’t know what to say.” She drew in a deep breath. “Just, thank you. For telling me this, I mean.”

“Thank you for listening,” he replied, probably matching her warm smile.

“You know what? I really feel like I needed a friend like you,” she confessed, although it was likely implied. “I mean, it’s not like Rylan isn’t a good person,” she added quickly. “He’s just a little… rough around the edges, if you know what I mean.”

“You’re not wrong about that.” They both let out a quick laugh at his remark. She looked up at the higher part of the wall, where he probably stood. There was something about him that made her feel safer than normal. She was thankful that they had crossed paths when they did.

Some voices could be heard above her now. It was impossible to make out their words, but they were definitely coming closer. “Asher,” she asked, “isn’t it a little early for teams to be coming back?”

“Not if they had an overnight mission,” he answered. “Why, is somemon coming?”

“Yep.”

The cover of a large book thumped against a table on his end. “You ready to do this?”

For some reason, confidence swelled in her as the voices became clearer. For once, her voice didn’t shake when she answered;

“You bet.”


	13. Mission Success

“Pokemon detected!”

“Whose footprint?”

Grace subconsciously turned back her ears in focus. Enough flying type mons had passed by today that she could easily recognize talons, even as the weak evening light strengthened the shadows tenfold. The size of the mon helped narrow her options down to a little more than half a dozen. But it was the navy and red feathers that really gave it away.

“We’ve got a Swellow here, right?” She called into the device.

Asher didn’t answer right away, but the sound of rapid page turning suggested that he was taking his part of the job just as seriously. “Yup, leader of Team Gale Wings,” he responded. “Prefered name?” he asked the mon outside without missing a beat.

“Nathanial.”

“You got the rest of your team with you?”

“Yeah, plus one extra.”

“Alright, take your team through.” The only times the gate remained open for an extended period of time was during the two rush hours; the morning rush and the evening rush. Both were extremely chaotic, but it was the evening rush when they really had to do their jobs. 

Grace didn’t have to wait long before the other mon stepped onto the grate. However, this mon was unlike most of the others she’d seen that day. “They’re probably a grass type, but I can’t really tell what kind,” she told him, after puzzling it for a little. If only it were closer to midday, then the sunlight would be on her side.

“Wait, is Diglett gone?” The mon at the grate asked. Their voice was a little higher pitch than she would have expected, but she could have sworn she’d heard it once before. Still, she hadn’t a clue who they were.

Asher, on the other hand, recognized the voice immediately. “Oh- hi Madi- er, Sunflora. Hi Sunflora! Come on in!”

“Bidoof?” She sounded confused for some reason. “Is that you?”

“Yep, and I’ve got Vulpix of Team Omega with me!”

“That’s nice. Just a quick question; have you by any chance seen Loudred today?”

“I saw him leave a little before the morning rush, but not since then, but I bet the Guildmaster would know more.”

“Okay, thank you!”

“No problem!”

The line was quiet after that. Grace waited for the dimming outside light to be broken by another footprint, but no one came. When it was clear that the evening rush had finally ended, she let out a sigh and stretched, giving her pelt a quick shake as well. Sure, those long parts of the day where it had been just her and Asher got boring pretty quickly, but the madness of rush hour was something else. She was just glad she didn’t have to do that every day.

Fortunately, they now had something to talk about. “I thought Sunflora worked at catering. Why was she out with the rush?”

“I…” Asher started, then fell back. “I have no idea. I mean, I heard she had a small team of her own before working with the guild, so maybe she just needed a quick break? We could probably ask her once our shifts are over.”

“If our shifts are ever over.” 

The two shared a brisk laugh. It hasn’t exactly been an eternity since she last saw the outside world, but it certainly felt like it. 

“I dunno,” Asher said. “I’ve worked this job before, and it’s usually about now when Chatot comes by and says-”

“Good work today, you two.” Exactly on cue, Chatot’s voice rang through the line. “Meet me on the second floor of the guild when you’re ready to get paid.”

Grace let out a sigh of relief. Finally, she was allowed to leave this hole and go take a walk. Sure, sentry duty was far safer and more predictable than exploring dungeons and catching outlaws, but at least that had some variety. 

In that moment of exhausted joy, something else stuck out. “Wait, we’re getting paid?”

“Of course,” Chatot answered matter-of-factually. “I know you’re still just an apprentice, but this job is fairly difficult, and I have a feeling you’ll appreciate more than just the experience.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you down there!” Asher said, before his voice disappeared from the device entirely. 

A heavy silence had taken hold of the world around her. She let out another, longer sigh. True, she was thankful to be receiving a little more than just the memories made down there. But those hours and hours of just talking with Asher had actually helped her forget her worries, even just for the day. 

She glanced back at the hallway, leading back to the guild’s second floor. It looked more ominous than before, but she still knew she was safe. The tiny flame, still dancing in the corner of her eyes, reminded her it would be.

“See you there!” She called into the device one last time, before beginning her trek back to the outside world.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━  
The second floor as even more deserted than it had been before she started her shift. Then again, this was usually around the time that everymon would be in the mess hall, helping themselves to the evening meal. Just the thought of all that food was nearly enough for her stomach to cry out in its emptiness. However, the idea of having to eat in front of everyone helped lessen her appetite.

Chatot was waiting near the hole leading to the sentry pit. Asher was too, and greeted her with a friendly smile when she arrived to the surface. It was refreshing to actually see his smile for once, instead of just assuming that it was present. Though, it was even more relieving to see a satisfied expression on Chatot’s face.

“Well, I must say, you two have really worked an honest day,” he started. “I was a little worried about how this would turn out at the beginning. But from what I’ve heard, you have done an excellent job in your shifts, especially considering this was Grace’s first time.” He sighed, still wearing his smile. “And for that, it’s only fair that I reward you well.”

He slid them each a brown drawstring bag, larger than most of the ones she had seen before. Grace moved a paw to open it, but stopped herself. Despite Chatot’s kind words, the voice in the back of her mind was still on the fence about accepting it. Maybe it was some sort of test? 

“You got me a River Charm?!” Asher gasped as he pulled a copper charm out of his bag. 

“Yes. One of the silver-ranked teams found it a few days ago. I figured it would be a sort of early 3 year anniversary gift.”

He threw it around his neck before the co-guildmaster had finished his sentence. The charm nearly disappeared within his mop of fur, but it had a much easier time bending the dusk light coming through the windows. “Thank you so much!” He paused. “Wait, does this mean I won’t get a cake on my actual anniversary?”

“No, you still will,” He reassured. As Asher let out a sigh of relief, Chatot turned to Grace, who still hadn’t touched her bag. “Well, are you going to open it or not?”

“Right yes, of course,” she answered quickly. Between her usual doubts and her friend’s celebration, it had slipped her mind completely. Now, with Chatot’s approval on her side, she gently pulled open the bag.

In her bag was a fair amount of gold and silver coins, as well as a glass bottle filled with an off- white liquid. A label was wrapped around the bottle, but it was written in that language that was everywhere around her. 

“A free Calcium blend?” Asher said, answering her question before she’d even asked it. “Aw man, those are the best kind!” 

“Again, excellent work today,” Chatot repeated, a pleased smile on his beak. “You both may take the rest of the night off if you want.”

“Wait really?!” Asher seemed rather surprised. Which was odd, because most apprentices could expect to be done even before the evening meal began. But maybe the standards for employees were different. 

“Yes, unless you’d rather help clean up the evening meal.”

“I think I’ll pass on that. I mean, unless we’re short staffed.” He added in the second part of his answer a little quieter.

Chatot let out a quick chuckle. “Oh, you’ve always been such a good worker.”

“But are we short staffed?”

He sighed. “Just go have fun for the night. But not too much fun, alright?”

“Got it!”

Satisfied, he flew over to the staircase and latched onto one of the wooden rungs. He didn’t seem too pressed for time, but his motions were noticeably rushed.

Asher’s expression quickly changed as something in his mind clicked “Wait- one last thing.” 

It took a moment for Chatot to face him from on the ladder. “Yes?”

“Is it too late for me to help out at the upcoming Guild Expedition?”

He hesitated, before letting out a quiet sigh. “I’ll see what I can do.” With that, he climbed up the rungs and up to the first floor. It wasn’t long before the sound of his claws on the wood became one with the growing chatter upstairs.

“Man, what am I going to do with all this free time?” Asher wondered aloud.

“Do you like, never get the night off?” Grace asked.

“Nope. I mean, I do get some breaks throughout the day, but I normally help with cleanup about now. Wait-no, it’d be in like half an hour from now. That’s usually when everymon’s in the break room and-” 

He paused, and his eyes lit up from some brilliant idea. “Wait a minute. Everymon’s upstairs right now, and it’s the ninth. Which means we can be the first in line for Kabbadi! Come on Grace, let’s go!” 

He dashed down the hallway behind them without a second thought. Grace stood bewildered for a split second, trying to process everything she’d just heard, before taking off after him. “Hey- wait up!” She called out.

Surprisingly, he came to a stop, looking back over his shoulder. “Oh shoot, sorry about that,” he apologized after she caught up. “I just really excited to actually get the chance to play it for once.”

“No, you’re fine.” He started his pace again, this time just a simple power walk. This time, she was able to keep up easily. “Wait, so you haven’t played Kabaddi before?”

“No.”

“Cool, me neither.” 

She sighed. Most nights, she retreated to her room as soon as she was finished with her meal, which was pretty soon; the few times she was hungry enough to not worry about the fact that it was extremely difficult to keep her mouth closed while eating, she never joined in on any conversations. On top of that, she had signed up for private training at the dojo on Thursdays, and that usually took up a good two hours of her night. 

The last (and first) time she visited the breakroom, she’d just played a handful of card games with a set of more seasoned apprentices. They mentioned that more physically demanding games were usually hosted in the other room, and the games played were rotated in and out on a set schedule. She remembered wondering if that was something Rylan would like to do in his free time.

She came to a dead stop right before the archway to the breakroom. *Oh my stars, I’m such an idiot.* Between the chaotic morning and her shift, she had completely forgotten about her partner. Oh shit, what was he going to think of her now? Even though he never really said anything during missions, and always had a tendency to run off on his own, she knew that he was one of the quickest mons to anger. What if what she did would disappoint him? What would he say after that? While her mind busted out fears quicker than most diss tracks, she turned on a paw and sprinted back to the staircase.

“Wait, where are you going!?” Asher asked, reasonably concerned.

“Sorryihavetobackupstairsforasecsorrysavemeaspotplease!” She had no time to look back at her friend. Her mind screamed at her to hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, go faster before it’s too late. But it never bothered to specify when too late was.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━

The second she got to the first floor, her panicked task to find her partner at any cost clashed with her need to keep her head down. Two different voices clashed inside her mind. *You’ll find him faster if you keep running! No don’t run, then everyone will notice you in the bad way! Rylan will notice you in the bad way if you don’t hurry! Well he’s just one person compared to the rest of the guild!*

Instead of following either of the voices orders, she stood frozen, victim to her own thoughts’ fighting. Even though she had barely run far at all, her heart pounded at a million miles an hour, and she felt seconds away from full-out sobbing. *Smell the flowers, blow out the birthday candles* she tried desperately to slow her rapid breathing, and failed horribly. *Okay, forget that, oh gods what worked before…* Wait, that weird observation trick she heard from the trainer, that could work!

*Okay okay, what do you see?* Uh, people. People. More people, who were probably all judging her and thought she was weak and a coward and- dammit that wasn’t going to work either, wasn’t it?! Why did she have to be like this!?!

“Hey, are you okay?” She instinctively whipped around. It was Chimecho, the mon who was at the information desk earlier this morning. They looked concerned, for one reason or another.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine,” she stated, even though it was impossible to quiet her obnoxiously loud breathing. Oh gods, so many people were watching her now.

They hesitated. “Okay, um, maybe it would be best if we take a trip downstairs? You know, because there’s less people.”

“I…” She still had to find Rylan before it was too late. She also didn’t want to turn down the offer and come off as rude. But both options involved disappointing people, so which one would be best? Her thundering heartbeat, which nearly drowned out her frantic thoughts, didn’t help either.

The faint sound of a tiny bell ringing somewhere among the chatter began to convince her that maybe she was going crazy. She rotated her ears around, trying to find the source. But she couldn’t. It was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Maybe it was just in her head, and she looked ridiculous right now?

But for some reason, this didn’t start to panic her. In fact, the exact opposite was starting to happen the longer that tiny bell rang. She no longer felt her heart pounding in every part of her body. Her breath had begun to quiet even without her noticing. Even her rampant thoughts began to die down for once. 

By now, a mellow euphoric feeling had completely enveloped her. But more importantly, her thoughts were the most rational that they’ve been all week. “Yeah, I’d like that,” she responded, pleasantly surprised on how smooth her voice came out.

They nodded, before floating down the stairs. She kept a steady pace behind without a second thought.

A handful of apprentices dashed across the second floor common room, grabbing their wages to spend at the breakroom. Asher sat at a far corner, talking to a mon she hadn’t seen before. As soon as he saw the two of them, he raced up to the base of the stairs, almost as panicked as she’d been a few moments prior. 

“Oh thank goodness you’re okay,” he said once they met at the bottom. “You really scared me when you just ran off like you did.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” The ringing had stopped, but she felt weird. Somehow, she was even calmer than she was in the pit.

“No, don’t be. You don’t need to apologize.”

“Well, I’m going to anyways.”

“Wait a minute.” Asher’s companion had followed. She’d never seen her before, but her voice was somewhat familiar. “Weren’t you the mon down in the sentry hole when I got back today?”

“Yup, that’s her!” Asher filled in. 

The guest, who’s name Grace believed was Sunflora, smiled. “It’s nice to get to see you in person. Well,” she added, “we definitely could have met sooner because I work at catering, but from what I’ve gathered you’ve only been here for a week.

Grace nodded. *Hang on, now would be a great time to ask what she was doing earlier today.* Yeah it would! But what about Rylan? The sheer thought of that made her heart skip a beat or two. But she couldn’t just run off again and scare the crap out of everymon. Oh gods, what to do...

“This is going to sound random, but how long have you had that Will-o-Wisp out for?” Chimecho asked. 

Asher gasped. “I *knew* something was different about you!” 

That sure wasn’t a question she expected to hear. She glanced back at the small blue flame by her side. It was rather dim compared to the flames her instructor made, but it shown as brightly as it could. That flame had one job, and by god, it was going to do it. 

“Um, I summoned it this morning,” she answered, “why?”

Their face shifted slowly to some mood. It was hard to tell what exactly, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good. “About that…” Their words were little more than a whisper, but urgency sharpened its edges. “Can you follow me for a second?”

“Where are you going?” Asher asked, blissfully unaware of the situation at hand. Whatever that situation was. 

“We’ll be right back!” Chimecho answered as they turned away from the conversation. If they were nervous about something, it no longer showed. 

He nodded, and turned back to Sunflora. “So, what happened next?” He asked her. There was a good chance he was already learning about why she was out. Grace might have to ask him for a summary at some point. 

She drew in a breath to continue her story, then paused and made an odd face. “Um, where was I?”

“You had just knocked out that Haunter fella?”

“Oh yeah!” She cleared her throat, beginning for real this time. “So I had just knocked that crook out, and was getting ready to take him back to the guild. But then, a bright light filled the entire room- and you’ll guess what happened next.”

As much as she wanted to hear the rest of the story, she knew she wouldn’t be able to focus on it. Not after that look Chimecho gave her. She exited the conversation, her thoughts already wandering from the story.


	14. Doubt

Chimecho was waiting at the start of the hallway leading to all the apprentice rooms. They didn’t continue along their path until she had caught up. 

However, instead of going straight down the hallway, they turned to the first door on their right. The door itself seemed relatively normal, except for the fact that there were a lot more symbols painted on the front of it. It also lacked a lock, or a door handle in general. 

She could only guess what was behind it. Fortunately, she didn’t need to wait long, as the door swung open on its own, and came to a dead stop right before it hit the wall. 

She had no idea what to expect from the room’s interior, but it was safe to say that it wasn’t like any other room she had been in. For starters, the lighting was off. There were no windows, and the only light source came from a dim string of lights that wrapped around the corners of the room, and an orange sphere dangling from the ceiling. The rugged stone walls, the walls that were a standard part of all the rooms in the guild, had painted vines running all along it, accented with a flower every so often.

The wall on her right had large square holes burrowed into it. Several glass jars, varying in both size and contents, rested upon the shelves. Each had a small slip of paper stuck to it, equipped with a few symbols in black ink. 

*Oh, so is this like a first aid room or something?* was Grace’s first thought. Her second was *Dear Gods, I left my Calcium Blend in the breakroom.* But, maybe now wasn’t the best time to bring that up... 

A faint light momentarily danced in Chimecho’s eye as the door closed behind them. “Feel free to lie down on a spare bed if you want to,” They said. They were probably referring to the set of 4 circular beds, all equipped with floral print sheets and a handful of pillows, that were on her left. Definitely beat the beds in the apprentice wing. 

She walked over to the beds, but made no moves to lie down. She’d already made herself look like enough of a mess, and she wasn’t about to add standing on her own to the list of things she couldn’t do. 

They had moved more to the middle of the room, almost perfectly under the sphere lamp. “So, how are you feeling?” 

At this point, somewhere between mach 4 panic and complete mind static. But that probably wasn’t what they were looking for. “I’m good.” She threw a shrug for good measure. “How about you?”

They snickered to themself. “I’m alright,” they said, a mellow type of smile on their face. Their sigh, however, reminded her that this was, in fact, at first aid room. “How are you feeling physically?” They elaborated. “Like, does it hurt anywhere? Do you feel tired, dizzy, anything like that?”

“Not really…” Now the real question was whether this was a good thing or not. Was she supposed to have noticed something out of the ordinary by now? Or was it better that nothing had come up?

They simply nodded, their expression not hinting to either of the possibilities. “Well, what you’ve got is actually pretty common. You’re not at all the first mon find themselves in a situation like this, and you probably won’t be the last. But this is one of the more severe cases I’ve had in my career.

“See, sometimes when younger mons are taught a new projectile move, they get all excited, like, *wow, this is going to make me so much stronger!* However, that excitement usually goes away once they realize that they don’t know how to put it away.”

Of course she made a rookie mistake. Why wouldn’t she? Her uncertainty turned to shame, and she dropped her gaze to the floor. 

“There might be a few side effects because you had it out for as long as you did,” they continued, “but the move itself is weak enough that I don’t expect it to cause anything serious. Still, I might have something to help the withdrawal…” They trailed off, before turning to the shelves behind them and examining some of the bottles. 

“Sorry.” Her words were little more than a whisper. If Chimecho heard it, they showed no sign. She let out a quiet sigh and sat down. If she had paid more attention in her lessons, this wouldn’t have happened. All of these mons, who had better things to do, were wasting some of their precious time. And for what? An idiot who couldn’t control her own powers? She wished she could just crawl into her bed and vanish for the night, or longer. She wished her problems would just… disappear.

In that exact moment, the small flame by her side simply vanished. At first she just stood there, dumbfounded. There was no way something that cost everyone involved all that time and energy could have been resolved so easily. 

That’s when her head began to feel light. It wasn’t long before the floor began to sway beneath her paws. She stumbled a few steps to her right, and it took all of her willpower not to crash into the wall. 

By now, Chimecho had finished picking out a bottle of medicine, and had just in time to see her nearly lose her footing. They briefly hesitated, before asking, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she lied. She felt like she was only seconds from fainting (and she likely was), but she wasn’t about to add more problem to this poor person’s plate. 

Thankfully, they didn’t try to press for a different response. A small bottle, holding a thick brown liquid, now floated next to them. With a single movement, the bottle floated to her side and rested on the ground beside her. “So I’ve got something that should help with some of the potential light-headedness that should set in soon enough.” It could have been her imagination, but the cap popped off on it’s own. “It would have probably been better if you had dismissed the move *after* you drank this, but it should still work.” 

Aaaand she messed up again. That certainly wasn’t something she was used to. Maybe she should just take the bottle and leave. Or would it be best to drink it here? Goddammit, why were there so many opportunities for poor decision making? 

“I suggest you take it now, or as soon as possible,” Chimecho answered the question for her. Sometime in the last few seconds, they had pulled out a wooden bowl and an oddly shaped stone from somewhere within the counter. “In the meantime, I’ve got to do a bit of work, but you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” 

She had wanted to leave the moment she walked in, so that choice was obvious. The medicine bottle, on the other hand, was going to cause another round of risky decisions. For starters, the bottle was slim and made of glass. There was no way she was going to be able to pick it up with paws. But how would she even drink it? Knock it over and probably spill it all over the floor? Put the whole thing in her mouth and risk breaking the bottle? 

Or she could just avoid that mess entirely and just leave the room. Which she did.

The apprentice hallway was empty, but she could hear whispers from behind a few doors. Even though she talked to exactly three people within the guild, she couldn’t help but worry about whether or not they were talking about her. But soon her dizziness nearly threw her off her paws, and she had no choice but to use all her focus just to stay standing.

Her pace through the hallway was slow. Too slow. Her paws felt so much heavier than her head. She picked up her pace a little. Her panic picked up as well. Oh gods, what if she ended up passing out in the hallway? Would she get a failing score for the day? Mocked by her peers? Maybe even… expelled from the guild?

A door flew open right in her face. She managed to back up enough to avoid a broken nose, but the bottom of the door hit her left paw. There was a quick bolt of pain as a single mon emerged.

“Sorry!” She and the mon, a white Ponyta with a luscious by-colored mane, ended up apologizing at the same time. 

“No, geez, I’m sorry,” He insisted. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, even though her state had gotten even worse since the last time she said that. 

He didn’t stick around for any more conversation, and galloped down the hall with nothing more than a faint smile over his shoulder. She weakly returned that smile, even though she was sure his didn’t see it. 

Which room was hers again? And more importantly, was she going to run into any more surprises tonight? Gods, she had already made a bad impression on so many people, it was probably a new world record. She was 110% ready to just hide in her room for the rest of the night.

But why was she complaining? She had spent so many hours isolated in the depths of the Sentry Pit than she had no reason to be whining about her social exhaustion. She couldn’t even handle a combined 20 minutes of interaction? 

Pathetic.

The door with her room symbols finally came into view. She stood up on her hind paws to reach the doorknob, and nearly fell right then and there. The knob turned downward and door gave way to her room.

From the window, it was clear that the sun had slipped below the horizon, but the light it produced wasn’t quite gone yet. The two straw beds on the floor had become looser strung over the course of the week. A small chest, one where the team stored their supplies that couldn’t fit in their bags, rested at the opposite end of the room. It wasn’t much, but it was what she had. 

She pushed the door closed with her back paw, and it resumed its post with a satisfying click. Finally, the day was over. Now it was just her and her rampant thought for the next three hours. But this time, her vision began to darken before she had even curled in her straw bed.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━

When she woke again, it was as if someone had frozen her in stone for a few decades. Each limb seemed weighed down by layers and layers of heavy blankets, and her mind felt thicker than clouds in the heart of a hailstorm. 

She didn’t try to move at first. Honestly, she didn’t want to. It wasn’t often that someone would be blessed with this level of relaxation, and she wanted to savor every second of it. 

But something was off. The room itself wasn’t particularly cold, even with a nearly open window. Despite that, her fur stood on end with chills. 

What time was it? And was it possible to go back to sleep? Maybe a look out the window could help answer her question. She rolled over on her other side, dispelling some of the blissful heaviness from her limbs. 

The sky was dark. There was no moon to light it, and all the stars had vanished. Cloud cover, perhaps. But the sky wasn’t quite black, but more of a dark blue, hidden away by a blanket of clouds. Meaning she had about half an hour to grab her food from the mess hall before it filled up, and another forty five until roll call.

She stood up, her movements a little rushed. Big mistake. A quiver, one that seemed to radiate from deep within her bones, filled her limbs and broke her illusion of strength. She lay back down before this feeling forced her down.

Okay, standing wasn’t really an option. But she couldn’t stay here for long, or else she’d either be forced to eat in front of others, be late on her next mission, or worse, both. All three sounded awful, as they both involved disappointing people. And personally, she’d rather jump off the nearby cliff than face the wrath of Chatot again. Maybe there was a small chance that, in this small strip of morning that had been provided, she could recover enough to not pass out in the middle of the day. If she was lucky, she could just pretend that nothing was worse than usual. Yeah, that sounded okay, she could do that. Just... as long as there were no more surprises.

It was at this time that Rylan stormed into the room, slammed the door behind him, threw the team’s bag across the room, and loudly flopped face-down onto his bed. He then proceeded to let out a frustrated scream, one that was fortunately muffled by his bed.

The second he had walked into the room, every bad thing she had done in her life flashed before her eyes. Which wasn’t a lot, considering her memory basically got a factory reset the previous week. But one of the first and worst things that came to mind was ditching him for sentry duty without so much as a goodbye. Oh gods, that’s probably what he was mad about. 

She gingerly sat up, simultaneously making as little noise as possible and seeing what this sudden weakness would still allow her to do. Rylan had stopped screaming, and instead was just sulking, faced to the opposite wall, his stumpy tail thumping against the straw bed. The sparks that danced along his pelt were the most violent she’d ever seen. Well, second most violent. She lowered her head back down and closed her eyes, bracing herself. It was only a matter of time before he unleashed his anger. 

A minute passed, and nothing happened. A heavy silence filled the room, unbroken by any physical aspect. So, of course, her rampant mind started to fill that silence. 

She thought that maybe because he hadn’t done anything today, he wasn’t actually mad about- no, no, he definitely was. What else would he be so upset about so early in the morning? Gods, she really should have just went on that quest with him. 

But that would have disappointed Asher. She was probably the last person he had asked, and if she had said no, he wouldn’t have been able to do his job. Then he would have gotten himself into huge trouble with Chatot, or worse, the Guildmaster himself. 

The sheer thought of Chatot’s wrath sent an even stronger chill down her spine. Okay, maybe it was for the best that she had helped with sentry duty. But Rylan was her partner; she couldn’t just abandon him whenever she felt like it! Chatot said that teams were supposed to stay together, dammit. They were supposed to have each other’s back, no matter what!

Maybe… maybe she was a bad teammate. Maybe it was a jerk move to rope Rylan into this mess just because someone recommended it to her. Yes, he did say that he wanted to be here, and that she wasn’t a bad person. But she couldn’t help but wonder if that was all just a lie to avoid hurting her feelings- no, it was definitely a lie.

She thought back to before her first day at the guild, to Wigglytuff telling her that she absolutely belonged, and that she’d be a wonderful part of the group. But she knew the truth; she didn’t deserve to be here. She wasn’t good enough to be part of this community of its own, and she’d taken a spot in the guild that could have very easily been filled by someone ten times better than she could ever be. She was just a waste of time, a waste of energy, and most importantly, a waste of space.

A thunder clap somewhere in the distance snapped her out of her little pity party. It didn’t sound close enough to have harmed anyone nearby, but it had still announced its presence nonetheless. *Great, it’s gonna rain today, probably right in the middle of our quest.* But then again, she probably deserved it. 

The straw bed next to her started to shift as Rylan got up toward the window. Soon, there was a low scraping of wood against stone as he fit a wooden circle into the space between the room and outside. At first, she didn’t ask if she could help. She knew she’d probably mess it up. But at the same time, she felt guilty of letting her partner do all the work by himself. He had to do a rescue mission alone because of her, the least she could do was help with this. 

She sat up in bed to the best of her abilities- and by that it really meant sitting with her limbs tucked neatly under her stomach. . The shaky feeling was still present, but it wasn’t as bad as when she tried to stand. But what would she say to him? *Hey, sorry for abandoning you yesterday for my new friend. Will you forgive me if I help you with something that literally anyone could do themselves?* God, she couldn’t even get verbal communication right. 

The scraping stopped, and there was another loud flump of a body hitting the straw bed soon after. Welp, looks like she was too late to interfere with that. Now she had a perfect little thing to worry about for the entire rest of the day! Maybe it could even get her into next week! 

But now, Rylan’s quiet growls broke the silence. What they were about, she had no clue. Actually, she knew exactly what they were about, and that it was entirely her fault. And soon, he was going to let out all that pent- up frustration and make sure she knew what a big fat failure she was. 

Of course, she didn’t have to wait long before Rylan’s anger finally bubbled over. He whipped his head around, pure, untainted rage in his eyes. “Okay, you know what really pisses me off?!”

“Me,” she answered without a second of hesitation. She waited for him to agree, and go off about how awful of a person she was.

But instead he looked at her like she had told him that he wasn’t invited to her birthday party anymore, or something dumb like that. “Not at the moment, no,” he answered slower. 

For a moment, his unbridled rage had ceased to exist, replaced by the confusion of his partner’s statement. But the mood he had showing off since the second he walked in returned as he let out an angry huff. “You good with me ranting for a bit?”

She nodded quickly. Whether said rant was about her or not, she wasn’t about to stop him. And if it was about her, than she would be getting exactly what she deserved. Win-win!

He rose to his paws and began pacing around the room as he delivered his tangent. 

“Okay, so you know those two assholes that I ran into earlier today? Well, after you left- wait, where did you even go?”

She hesitated. Should she tell the truth and risk getting yelled at? Or make up some lie and get yelled at. She quickly decided to go with a third option: tell the truth, but really vaguely. “Someone needed some help with that and I’m sorry I didn’t ask you before.” 

“Right, got it,” he replied, then picked right back up on his rant as if she hadn’t said anything. “After you left for that, they started going off about ‘oh, our boss if so much stronger than you’ll ever be.’ And I was like, ‘well why doesn’t he haul his fat ass down here and prove it?’” He stopped his pacing and looked her dead in the eye. “Guess who fucking showed up.”

He didn’t wait for an answer before he started pacing again. “Both Chatot and that boss of theirs happened to walk downstairs *at the same time.* I should mention now that the fantastic leader of Team Skull, looked like he walked backwards through a thorn bush.

“Anyway, I walk up to him and start asking who the actual hell does he think he is, letting those little shits of his steal one of my only prized possessions. Granted, my family has probably done worse, but that’s not the point, we didn’t laugh at our victims. And those two fuckers were laughing like they got front row seats to the comedy club!”

Grace almost asked what kinds of things his family did but stopped herself. She had way too many flaws herself, why would she even think about nitpicking him? It wasn’t like she deserved to know anyways. She just let him continue on his tirade without a word.

“But before I can really start to chew into this son-of-a-bitch, Chatot’s all like ‘Oh, this is a transfer team, you should show them some respect.’ Bitch, no. They made an effort to target me specifically, I’m just returning the favor!”

“Did you actually say that?”

He let out a harsh sigh. “I wish I did. But I know authority figures. I knew I couldn’t win, and if I backed down without too much of a fight, he’d probably find a lot less to punish me for. So I just left them, let them win that battle, and tried to go on with my day.” He sat down with another huff. But judging by how his claws started to dig into the ground and his stumpy tail somehow started to lash even more, there was a good chance he wasn’t done yet.

“So I head over to Apple Woods and started looking for this missing mon on the flyer. And I mean, this was a massive forest so I was thinking this would probably end up being a 2-5 day mission. I mean, that’s fine, the quest had a good reward, so it was probably worth it.

“About one hour ago, I ran into a group of peaceful nomads who are kind of on good terms with the guild. Again, that's fine, it usually means you’re getting close. I start to ask them for information and they ask for the flyer, yada yada yada.

“But get this; the flyer was fucking missing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and it gets better. When I started giving a description of the mon, one of them said that yes, they have seen him. Unfortunately, some other group came to pick him up *literally fifteen minute prior.*

“So I get back to the guild late I’m looking for a little bit of sympathy. And then I run into that Turtwig that I spent all day looking for. He was safe and with who I believe was his mother. Which, good for him, but this meant that someone stole the flyer. 

“And that’s when I see Team Skull, getting *my* reward from Chatot, for the job request that *I* accepted. Chatot sees me and gives me a ‘don’t even start’ kind of look. Skuntank, on the other hand, decided to give me the biggest shit-eating grin I have ever seen. Like, it was worse than some of the ones my bastard of a brother would give, and that’s really saying something.

“It was like he and the rest of that team thought they were so far above me because they’re part of an official team and I’m just a ‘lowly apprentice.’ That’s no reason to act like a fucking dounchebag. But that’s what he is. A fucking douchebag. You know what? I’m tired of people with higher titles who think they can just throw their weight around. And then they think they can just treat anyone ‘below them’ like absolute shit, just because they want to! I am just so fucking done with that!! Do you understand?! I’m done!!”

His last few words almost seemed to shake with emotion. The silence that followed was a heavy one. His breath had become far more forced, as if focusing hard on something. Grace, on the other hand, practically held her breath as to avoid noise of any kind.

A few more seconds of this tension passed before he turned to the door. “I’m gonna go train,” he mumbled, turning to the door.

She sat up a little as he started to pull on the door handle. “I- is it even open right now?” She asked. 

“Curfew’s at moon high. I’m training.” Now the strain in his voice was noticeable. He shut the door behind him, softer than before, but not by much. 

The pitter-patter of rain now accompanied the ever present sound of waves crashing down on the rocks below her. Another bolt of lightning struck the earth, closer this time. She lay back down and let out a sigh as a wave of realization washed over her. It really wasn’t morning, was it? Gods, why would she be stupid enough to think that? 

Her thoughts drifted back to Rylan’s rant. He sounded so upset pouring out the woes of his day. She should have been there. She should have been there to help him. Maybe she should have gone on the quest herself, and let Rylan have an easy day off. But would there have been anyone else to help Asher with sentry duty? Well, maybe he had other friends that would have been just as willing to help. But what if he didn’t?

The crash of a third round of thunder made her jump. She instinctively curled up into a tighter ball, temporarily distracted by the problems of the past. The ocean waves had grown louder, as if trying to make themselves heard over the howling winds. 

She remembered the sound of a storm at sea. She had no clue why, but that symphony of violence sparked a feeling of deja by somewhere deep in her memories. 

She perked up, an excitement filling her. That must have been how she got onto the beach in the first place! A storm must have carried her there from overseas! But that excitement quickly faded when she realized this did next to nothing in revealing where she was carried from, or why she couldn’t remember anything from that past life.

Was she ever going home? Was she ever going to learn what and where home was? What was her role in that life? Was it harder than it was here? The ribbon she wore, was it gifted to her from a friend, a parent, or maybe a lover? What if everyone there was freaking out about her disappearance? Or what if no one even noticed she was gone? She turned these thoughts over in her mind as the winds and rains carried on with their concert well into the night.


	15. The Big Guild Expedition

The 20th day of Long Sun

_“Let me get this straight, first you set up this statue that gets rid of fog once someone put back the magical missing piece, then you set up a fake Groudon for people to fight, all just to protect some fancy lake?_

_“I mean I guess that was a little overboard, even for me. But this is not just a fancy lake! It’s a lot more special than that!”_

The torches in the apprentice hallway were far and few in between. Whether that was for budgeting reasons or safety reasons, no one really knew. Maybe it was to discourage anyone from leaving their rooms in the small hours of the morning. Of course, this did not help anyone who had to wake up before the sun did.

In the silence of the early morning, Grace silently cursed about the way her claws clicked against the loose cobblestone floor. No matter how much she quieted her breath, those claws were always a dead giveaway of her location. Rylan was lucky. Even as he lumbered through the hallway, still partially asleep, he was able to conceal his steps with ease. If she had to pick one part of herself that she hated most, she would pick her claws. Either that or her mouth. She couldn’t decide.

More torchlight greeted them at the end of the tunnel, before opening up to the apprentice common room. On any other morning, it would be rare to run into another guild member this early. But this was the morning before the biannual guild trip, so naturally today was the exception. The room was already populated with at least 3 different groups of apprentices, all chatting in a loose circle in the center of the room. At least she wasn’t the first one in. But was she the last one?

It wasn’t long before someone who might have been Sadie eye contact with her. Her eyes lit up and she immediately started to wave her down.”It’s Grace and Rylan!” She called out, somehow having a peppy smile this early in the day. “So glad you could make it!”

All eyes were on her in an instant. She could feel the sweat start to build up on her paw pads as she let out a nervous laugh. “So glad to be here.” Another worry struck her soon after; she didn’t know the names of anyone in the group. 

Rylan simply gave a tired ‘yeah, yeah,’ before taking his place in the apprentice circle. Grace hastily joined as well, not wanting to stand out. Unfortunately, her moment in the spotlight was not over yet. 

“So, how are you feeling?” She said to them.

“Tired,” Rylan answered without missing a beat. 

“Uh, yeah, I’m tired too,” Grace added on. This was a lie, as her day had started almost 3 hours ago for absolutely no reason. Of course, that probably wasn’t the best response. “I mean I’m also really excited about the guild trip!”

A Minncino with visible eye bags metaphorically stepped forward. “Trust me, you’re not the only person that feels that way. In fac- Sadie, I’m pretty sure you’re the only person here who isn’t tired.”

She let out a small chuckle and shrugged. “Well, I guess I’m just extra excited for the day. Who knows what will end up happening?”

“I heard that we might even stay the night on the field with a group of nomads,” a Togedemaru added.

Now everyone was starting to get excited. Except for Rylan, who rolled his eyes as the rest of the group started to discuss among themselves. At least now he could blow it off for early morning grouchiness. 

“Wait, are you serious?” a Pichu on Grace’s right asked.

“No, I’m Jet.” This earned him a quick backhand from an Axew who was likely one of his teammates.

The sound of hooves against stone dragged Grace’s attention away from the conversation, but she didn’t dare look behind her and come off as rude. Instead, she kept her gaze at the floor within the circle.

“We’re not late, are we?” The new voice asked. Everyone turned around to see the next lucky guild appren- wait crap, now she had to turn too.

It was a Ponyta. Well, he looked like a Ponyta, but with a pink and cyan mane instead of a warm orange one. He looked fairly worried about something, probably regarding the question he had asked. His partner, a Furfrou with messy white fur, did not share his concern.

“No, not at all,” Sadie reassured.

The Ponyta let out an exhausted but relieved sigh as the rest of the team opened up the circle for the two newcomers. “See, I told you they’d be nice,” Furfrou whispered to him as they joined the circle and the conversation resumed.

For one reason or another, Ponyta ended up sitting on Grace’s right with a quiet huff. A pang of remembrance struck her then. She could have sworn she had seen him before somewhere. Wait yeah, she ran into him (quite literally) not too long ago. She should apologize for that? Yes, that’d be good- hold on, hold on. 

She was really thinking about apologizing to him in front of his friends? And making fools out of both of them? But he probably deserved an apology. She could pull him aside at some point and apologize then. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. Now she just needed to ask him to meet her alone.

Holy crap, no, bad idea. That sounded ridiculously sketchy. But she had to apologize somehow. 

Why was she hesitating so much? She was better than that. There was literally no reason to be this worked up over a little thing like that. Oh goddammit, just talk to him already, you coward. She drew in a breath and looked over at him. 

One thing she hadn’t noticed before was the fact that his cotton- candy mane had a little braid tucked away within it. The rest of his pelt was an off- white with a slight pink tint. His juniper green eyes were staring straight ahead, focused on something else. Then they turned to her.

She immediately turned her gaze away. *You idiot, why did you do that?* Now he was going to think that she was a creep or something. Way to make a good first impression. Then again, she’d already ruined her chance at a good first impression almost two weeks ago.

“I’m just glad we don’t have to do anything to qualify for the trip.” A remark from a Cutiefly brought her back into the conversation.

“Amen to that,” a Quilava said. “Honestly, if I have to go through another entrance exam ever again, I will cry.”

“Is that a threat?” The Morpeku on their right challenged. 

“Yes.”

The rest of the teams carried on, dragging on about how terrible that exam was. Everyone had something to say about it. Except for the members of Team Omega, who shared a confused and concerned look. But of course, Rylan was the one to ask, “What guild exam?”

Minncino turned away from their conversation to face them. “What, did you get like a scholarship or something?”

Scholarship? That was an option? But was it a good option? Hang on, were they supposed to take the guild exam? Chatot never mentioned a guild exam. Was there a reason they didn’t take it? Was she a faker for not taking it? Oh god, what would happen if someone were to find out? Nope, do not let anyone find out.

“Not that I know of, no.” She froze up as soon as the words left her partner’s mouth.

A mild puzzled look broke through their nearly- permanent exhaustion as they turned to her. “Well then how’d you get in”

“Um, well…” Any words that she had prepared evaporated on her tongue. Now how the fresh hell was she going to answer that question? Okay, okay probably not the best time to lie because she knew she didn’t know anything and then everyone would know she was a faker and get kicked out and all that fun stuff. And it wasn’t like she could tell the truth either because then she would get called out and everyone would be mad at her and she’d get kicked out. She couldn’t even give a really vague truth either because, again, she didn’t know anything and would reveal that she was a faker and make everyone mad and get kicked out. Wow, what a selection!

“I swear I’m not late, I was just maximizing my sleep,” another new voice called out behind her. She turned instinctively before her mind got the chance to scream at her not to. But that wouldn’t have been too much of a problem because it was just Asher running in with an overflowing messenger’s bag. He quickly ran to the middle of the circle and plopped the bag on the floor. Everyone’s full attention shifted to him, including Minnicino’s. Which, thank god.

“Okay, I’m here, I’m queer. Who else is excited to be here?” As the group let out a cheer, it was clear that he was far more comfortable in the spotlight.

“Wait you’re gay?” A Cutiefly asked once the cheering began to ease up.

“Yeah.”

“Cool, me too.”

He cleared his throat. “Anyways, the Guildmaster and our supervising team are in a quick little meeting, so I’ll be doing the headcount.” He pulled out a clipboard and a pen from the bag and began reading aloud.

“Beth, Alice, and Candi of Team Go Getters, you guys all here?”

“Yes,” a Chikorita she hadn’t seen earlier told him.

He nodded, checking something off on the clipboard. “Same thing for Bones, Desmond, and Royal of Team Sweet?”

“You got it, dude.” That Minncino from earlier, Bones, accompanied their statement with a pair of finger guns.

“Sadie, I already saw, but you’re got Jet, Dakota, Atlas with you, right?”

“You bet,” Sadie confirmed with a generous amount of peppiness in her words.

“Alright, Oliver of Team Prism, you and Beatrice here?”

“Yeah,” Oliver said with a readiness of sorts. He seemed fairly confident. Chances were that he hadn’t needed to rehearse his answer in his head. Which was something she should have been doing before now holy crap.

“Last but not least, Grace and Rylan of Team Omega, you here?”

“Uh, yeah,” Grace blurted out. It sounded awful and unprepared, everyone else did such a better job. But fortunately, it seemed to do the job.

Ashere checked off the last of the names on the list with a satisfied look before putting it back in the bag. “Alright, everyone is here, everyone is ready to go out and have fun. Now all we gotta do is wait for the Guildmaster to-”

It was then that door leading to the Guildmaster’s room opened. Out stepped the Guildmaster in all his glory, along with the supervising team. “Good morning, all you lucky recruits,” he greeted. “Okay, now, who is excited to start this guild trip already?”

The cheering was a lot more enthusiastic this time around, likely because the Guilmaster was present. Aside from her first day in this new world, she hadn’t really seen the Guildmaster all too often. It was probably the same for everyone else. Or maybe she just wasn’t as observant as she could be.

“Perfect, me too,” Wigglytuff said once the cheer started to die down. “Before we get going, however, there are a few things I’d like to make sure you know.

“First our supervisors for this trip. Keep in mind that they did volunteer for this opportunity, so they should be just as excited as you are for this. You have already met Asher as the employee supervisor, but I think it would be perfectly safe to announce Team Skull as the supervising team.”

The weird thing about that team was, even after listening to Rylan rant about them for quite awhile, they didn’t exactly look like the team that would pull those kinds of things. All three of them looked fairly presentable and ready to do their jobs. But Rylan had seemed so upset that one night. Maybe they were just holding up a fake facade to- no, she wasn’t going to assume anything, that would be rude. Maybe they were actually nice people. Maybe.

“Second,” Wigglytuff continued, “I’ve got the schedule that we’ll be following for the trip.” He unfolded a piece of paper that had been hidden away in his palm. “First things first, we leave for Foggy Forest via the Warp Tower upstairs. Then we’ll spend the morning hiking until we reach an allied village of nomads for a quick lunch break.” He looked up from the paper, as if to emphasize his next statement. “These nomads have agreed to use their time and resources to host us, so please treat them with respect.”

He looked back down at the paper as he took a few seconds to read the next string of words. “After that, we’ll continue exploring the northern part of Foggy Forest until dusk, then camp out in the nomad settlement for the night.” This statement was met with numerous excited whispers. “We’ll start heading back to the Warp Tower in the morning, and you’ll have a free day once you get back to the guild.” He folded the piece of paper back up. “Now, does everyone have any questions?”

A few whispers could be heard among the group, but none of them directly tried to address the Guildmaster. Grace herself didn’t dare ask anything, in fear of holding up the group. Wigglytuff seemed just as approachable as he was the first time they met. Definitely more so than Chatot. But she still had to make sure she gave him as little things for him to criticize her as possible.

He seemed satisfied. “I’ll give you all a little more time to grab anything else you need, but make sure you meet us upstairs in about ten minutes.” With that, he turned to the stairs, motioning for the four supervisors to follow. Asher scampered along quickly. Zubat and Koffing followed as well, although not before whispering something to each other and snickering quietly.

Skuntank was last. For some reason, he stopped about halfway up the stairs and scanned the crowd. Everyone had already begun to start up their own brief discussions, so this act went mostly unnoticed.

His gaze stopped right at Grace, and he started to smirk. She felt her blood start to run cold as they held eye contact. She didn’t dare move an inch. Nothing passed through her mind, except for a voice screaming ‘don’t you dare look away or else.’

It seemed like an eternity, but it was likely only a few seconds. He gave a small huff before turning away and continuing up the stairs. The second his tail disappeared above her, she let out her breath. Wait, when did she start holding her breath? It didn’t matter.

A feeling of uneasiness lingered within her longer than it should have. Had she done something to deserve a glare like that? Probably. She shook her head. She could ponder that later, but right now she had a different priority: make sure she wasn’t the last one upstairs. “Rylan, do we-”

She cut off as the team’s bag hit the ground right before her paws. Rylan slunk past her, his ears drawn back. “Gotta go grab something. I’ll see you upstairs.” His words were woven within a growl as he moved back to the apprentice hallway.

Was he normally this angry? Was it something she did? Oh great, now she pissed off both Skuntank’s and Rylan. Now all that was left was to piss off Wigglytuff. Which may or may not be difficult because they didn’t really know each other all that well. Unless Chatot told him about her.

She shifted her focus back to the room. While she had been lost in thought, three groups had already left the room. Holy crap, was she going to be the last one upstairs? Don’t just stand there, go! Hurry up, run if you have to- wait no, bad plan. You’ll just attract the attention of the last group. Gotta find a good pace- don’t you dare look at them.

She soon felt the stone rungs built into the spiral staircase under her paws. Okay, so far so good, don’t rush, but stay away from the ladder in case someone starts coming down. She was so focused on looking natural that she almost didn’t hear the conversation upstairs until it was too late. 

“-think a group of 14 would be a be much to keep track of.” She stopped. The semi-constant sound of multiple little conversations was gone. There was only one set of voices above her. Where was everyone? Was she walking on something private? She looked back down below her. The part of the room that she could see was empty, but no one else had followed her up. But it was only a matter of time before someone walked back in and judged her for being suspicious. She found herself slowly shuffling up the stairs as the conversation continued to unfold.

“I’ve been running this guild for over 30 years. Even if I couldn’t do that on my own, I’m certain the five of us will easily be able to if we work together.” A different voice answered the first. “Unless you think you can’t handle that. If that’s true, it’s not too late to find a different team for supervising.”

“That’s not what I meant,” the first voice clarified.

“What my buddy here is trying to say,” a third voice interjected, “was that, well, we’re probably taking more apprentices with us than we’re leaving at the guild. And it wouldn’t be fair to scrap all that extra work on to those poor saps that didn’t get to go, am I right?”

“Yeah, what he said.”

There was a quick huff from from someone before the second voice replied, “I can see that being an issue, But Chatot and I have been discussing this day for a long time, and I trust that he has already found a way to work with it. Besides, today is a special day for these guys. I really don’t want to have to break someone’s heart.”

“Right, then we’ll just work extra hard to make this day great for everyone,” a fourth voice added.

“That’s the spirit! Now let’s make this day the best day they’ll ever have!”

“You okay?” A new voice behind her nearly scared the daylights out of her. It was that Furfrou from earlier. Oliver’s partner. “I mean, that’s not really an interesting wall, but who am I to judge?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine.” Busted. Crap, now she’s gonna know that she was eavesdropping. Then she was going to get kicked out of the group for that and then everyone would laugh and no one would ever trust her again and-

“So, you just gonna keep standing there or…?” Furfrou asked, raising one eyebrow higher than the other.

“I’ll move, I’ll move.” She scrambled up the rest of the stairs. Her heart began to beat in her chest harder than it should. She could only imagine the disappointment that would meet her upstairs.

“Grace!” Asher called out even before her paws touched the first floor. He ran across the room to greet her, messenger bag flailing around.

She instinctively took a step back as he bolted up to her, and nearly fell back down the stairs.  
Her heart skipped a few beats as she regained her footing. Even though she couldn’t see them, the faint laughs signaled that another team was on their way.

“Yeah, how about we move away from the stairs,” Asher suggested.

“Sure,” she answered weakly. They both walked over toward the Outlaw Notice Board. While they were doing so, Furfrou (wasn’t her name Beatrice or something?) remained by the stairs, waiting for either a friend or her partner to come up the stairs.

“So how you been?” He asked once they got close enough to the edge of the room. She noticed his River Charm looked freshly polished as it reflected some of the weak moonlight still left in the room.

“I’ve been doing good.”

He sighed. “Man, I haven’t really gotten to see you much at all.”

“Work stuff?”

“You bet. I mean, I’m technically working right now, but this really feels like a vacation!”

She found herself letting out a quick chuckle. “Yeah, it does.”

Her gaze wandered across the room. Beatrice was now in a conversation with a Morpeko. But there was a different group that caught her attention.

Team Skull was sitting over by the Job Bulletin Board, whispering something among themselves. Koffing looked as if he had suggested something devious, because he gave a beaming smile as Zubat let out a wave of laughter. Skuntank, on the other hand, put on a pleased smirk and added something of his own. 

That conversation she had intercepted was still fresh in her mind. Was that really Team Skull she had heard then? If so, what exactly had been trying to achieve? 

“Yeah, I don’t really know what their deal is either,” Asher said, rather unprompted. 

She turned her eyes away from the team and back to her friend. “What do you mean?”

He paused, looked at the team, and then back at her. “It’s just, there’s a lot of things that don’t really add up,” he said in a lowered voice. “For starters, transfer teams are usually a bit, what’s the word- younger. Not that these guys look middle aged or anything, I’ve just noticed that transfer teams are almost always fresh graduates.”

“Wait, you graduate from here?” She asked.

“From guilds in general, yeah. The Guildmaster decides when an apprentice team is ready to become a fully fledged team when they’ve been apart of the guild for a certain amount of time.”

“So, what does he grade you on? Wait, am I failing anything? Where can you see your report card? Or do you only get to see those at the end of the quarter? What’ll happen when my parents find ou-”

“Hold on, Grace, what on earth are you talking about?”

“I-” she stopped herself. What was she talking about? She couldn’t remember. A deep sensation of deja vu rested within her, but so did a feeling of panic and dread. Those things, they had to be a big part of her past to cause a reaction like that. But what were they? “Never mind it’s not important, uh, keep going.” 

There was a concerned look in his eye, but he continued. “Yeah, they’re not fresh graduates, but it doesn’t stop there. I’ve tried to ask them a couple times what guild they graduated from, and they always start telling me about this awesome private guild overseas.”

“Did you catch the name of it?”

“That’s the thing, they change the name of it every time they bring it up.”

“Really?” Grace asked, before realizing she should probably cut back on the questions.

“Yup. Honestly, I’m starting to think they formed a team before the SFNT agreement of ‘82, and just tell people they went to a private guild for a better reputation.”

She nodded, then looked back around the room. Team Skull had migrated over to the stairs, waiting for something. It was worth noting that the room had filled up more in the few minutes they had snatched to themselves. But where was Rylan?

“Um, miss?” Someone asked. She turned around, and immediately felt her heart freeze. It was Oliver, that same Oliver that she had stared at like a creep not even five minutes ago. There were two brown straps, both the same shade thrown around his neck. “I think you left your bag downstairs.”

Of course. Honestly, did she really think she could get through the guild trip without messing up at least once? “Thanks,” she said, rising to her paws. “I’ll go grab it real quic-”

“No, don- I have it with me right now,” he insisted. He bowed his head until his horn almost touched the ground, and the two bags slid off his neck and hit the ground with a soft thump. Both had symbols inscribed on the front, but she recognized one group of letters more than the other. 

She picked up the bag with her team’s name on the front and threw it around her own neck. “Thanks.” Something made her feel sick, but it wasn’t the normal feeling of constant impending doom. This was… something else entirely. It wasn’t as bad as before, but she still didn’t like it, whatever it was.

She soon realized that she had been staring at him again for an uncomfortably long time. She tore her gaze away from him. Whatever that feeling was, it was already leaving. “Thank you for grabbing that,” she repeated.

“Your problem,” he said. He then stopped, drew in a long breath, grabbed his own bag, and wordlessly walked away. Beatrice was still with Royal (and the rest of Team Sweet), but perked up when her partner returned to her side.

That was… definitely something. It was nice of him to return her bag for her in person. She never could have worked up the courage to do something like that. Honestly, that definitely could have been a smoother interaction if she hadn’t completely ruined it. If she had been even the slightest bit better at not being awkward, then he wouldn’t have been weirded out enough to mess up his closing line. 

The room stopped as Wigglytuff entered from the mess hall. He had grabbed a large leather backpack from the last time she had seen him. “Does everyone have what they need?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer. No one answer stuck out, but there was a general yes. 

“Including your Team Badges?” Another vaguely unanimous answer. 

He seemed satisfied. “Alright, if we have everything, we can head out.” Whoops and cheers followed his words as the group started to migrate to a small room next to the team dorm hallway. Asher started a sprint to the front of the group, and Grace followed him quickly.

By the time she made it over to the small room, a crowd blocked the entrance. She didn’t try to look over people’s heads, because that would just attract unwanted attention. 

“Now I know what you all are thinking, ‘hang on, apprentices aren’t allowed to use the warp tower.’ Well, this is a special occasion, and we’ve already made sure that the chance of getting hurt in a Warp Tower is next to none. Team Skull, Asher, you go first to make sure everyone gets to the location. I’ll stay behind and make sure no one gets left behind.”

The crowd shifted as the supervisors made their way to the Warp Tower. Soon, there was a bright flash of purple light, and the crowd erupted in confused and excited exchanges. 

The group shifted to fill the new space, and she got to see a better view of the Warp Tower. It wasn’t too tall, not even twice her height. The tower itself was a dark metal rod sticking out from the ground. On top, there was a large violet crystal in the shape of a perfect cube. On the highest point of the cube, there was a small blinking red light, but it wasn’t long before it changed to a solid green.

“Make sure you’re with your team members.” Wigglytuff told everyone as Team Wildfire stepped into the circle around the Warp Tower. “And don’t worry too much about the destination, I pre-assigned it already.”

Once all four team members were in the circle, the green light changed to red, and the cube started to glow, as well as the marked circle on the ground. Four small blue lights started to glow within Sadie’s bag. Soon, a brilliant beam of purple light shot up from below and engulfed the team. As she watched the light shine within the room, a wash-up up feeling of dread filled the pit of her stomach.

Then the light faded. Team Wildfire had vanished, but no one was particularly worried. The red light flickered back to green, and the cycle continued with a different team. 

By now, the crowd had thinned out to the point where you could see the other end with no effort. And there, on that other end, was Rylan. He was furiously scratching at a new white bandana around his neck, which held his badge. It was hard to hear, but he was definitely muttering something under his breath. Now the real question was whether he was mad at Grace for whatever reason, or if Wigglytuff had said something to piss him off again. Or maybe something else.

The Warp Tower fired a few more apprentices into the great unknown as she exited the crowd and walked over to him. When she got to his side, he looked up from the floor. The anger in his eyes were so intense she nearly flinched. One thing was for certain. She definitely wasn’t about to pester him about his day. 

The Warp Tower lit up again, and she actually flinched that time. A feeling of old dread was back, and stronger than before. It was almost like that feeling she got when Asher had brought up graduating. But this one felt… fresher. And stronger. But what would a light like that have to do with her past? Maybe that had something to do with how she ended up on the beach?

“It’s our turn,” Rylan said with a harsh edge, walking over into the marked circle. She nodded, her heart starting to beat faster. With every step she took toward the Tower, something within her screamed that something was bound to go horribly wrong. 

By the time she was actually in the circle, the worst panic had started to set in. She fought to stop herself from hyperventilating as her head screamed at her to get out. Get out get out get out get out get out-

The badge clipped to her scarf had begun to glow. Oh no. Oh no no no no. Her breath had begun to grow louder as she felt her throat tighten. The early morning started to blur as water filled her eyes. No no no no no no-

The floor dropped beneath her and she screamed. Bright light filled all of her senses. Not even the tears in her eyes could even start to dim it. Some bad is gonna happen today. Something bad is coming to hurt your friends. Something bad is coming to hurt someone closer than friends. Bad bad bad bad no no no no stop stop stop stop stop. 

I won’t let it hurt them.

The ground came back a lot harder than she expected it would. Her chest started to ache but not just from the landing. Every quick heartbeat pounded louder than the last. That new panic wouldn’t leave, and even more panic set in when she realized she could barely breathe. Where is the bad who is it trying to hurt why does this hurt so much.

She felt someone drag her along the ground by the scruff. Several more hands helped her to her shaking legs. Between her tears and the sudden shift of light, she could barely make out the faces of the other apprentices. “Holy crap dude are you okay?” One of them asked.

“I’m fine. I-” Her answer was cut off by a loud sob. More tears hit the grass at her paws as this terror continued to plague her. “It- it’s nothing, I’m sorry- I just-” Another bout of choked sobs cut her off. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Asher reassured, “there is nothing here that’s gonna hurt you, no one here is gonna hurt you- I know you guys are concerned, but I’m gonna need a little space.”

She tried again to tell everyone not to waste their time, but every attempt was interrupted with more loud sobs. The ground beneath her paws was damp with salty tears. She wanted to run, to get way before the bad came to get her. Can’t breathe. Can’t move. 

“Grace, look at me.” His caramel brown eyes and messy brown fur shifted in and out of focus as more tears rushed down her face like a flood. “It’s okay, just, breathe with me. In-” He drew in a long breathe through his nose, “-and out,” He let it out with a slow and gentle sigh. “Okay, you do it now with me.”

Her first set of inhaling and exhaling was shaky, and immediately followed by some coughing. He kept reassuring her she was okay, and stayed at her pace for every breath. His breaths started to get slower and longer, and by cycle number twelve, so were hers. There were noises all around her. She tried to look back a few times, to find out what was happening. But every time Asher turned her face back with a simple, “No, keep looking at me.” Sometimes he’d even throw in a little, “You’re doing great.” 

She didn’t believe him when he said that things would be okay. At least not at first. But the longer she kept listening to his words, matching the rhythm of his breathing, the more she felt her panic start to melt away. 

Somewhere in between the thirtieth and fortieth cycles, Asher turned away to face someone behind her. “Royal, you got anything sweet on you?”

The shifting of leather stood out more after Asher’s voice stopped. “I’ve got 69p and a Krookodile Krunch Bar,” they said.

“That’ll work, thank you.”

A small bar wrapped in red paper hit the ground by his paws. He picked it up and unwrapped the top bit with care. The bar itself was earth colored, with a few lighter dots scattered about. “Eat this, it’ll help.” She nodded and took a small nibble.

A milky sweetness greeted her instantly. It wasn’t long before it started to melt, leaving behind small pieces of toffee in her mouth. *Holy crap, this stuff is amazing.* Her second bite was somewhat more ravenous than the first. She quickly leaned in to take a third, then paused. “Do you want some?” she asked.

He laughed. “No thanks, you can keep the rest of it.” 

A sudden queasiness kept her from eating anymore of that glorious bar. As she slipped it back into her bag, her eyes met Royal’s. “I’ll pay you back,” she mouthed, any turned away before they could answer. Receding pawsteps were heard behind her as she turned back to Asher.

He let out a sigh, shorter than the last few. “So, how are you feeling?” He asked.

She had no idea how to answer that question. The adrenaline and panic from that whole mess was still fading, leaving behind a numbness of sorts. There was also a bit of joy that the bar had given her, which was quickly dampened by nausea. And that wasn’t even accounting for the shame and embarrassment that was starting to build up when she realized what exactly that panic was about. Who freaks out about something they don’t remember? “I have no idea,” she answered. A few more tears started to build up as she spoke, and she realized that speaking right now probably wasn’t the best idea.

“Well, are you feeling better?”

She nodded, trying to keep what little composer she had left. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She hesitated. She didn’t want to brainstorm what terrible thing could have caused such a massive panic, but she also wanted to leave him with options. “Maybe later,” she squeaked out. Oh god please don’t cry now. 

“Do you think you want to drop out of the expedition?” Those words definitely took her by surprise. “It’s not too late to turn back, and I’m pretty sure Rylan can handle himself for a day.”

“Wa- no, I’ll be fine, I’m just fine,” she told his with faltered words and another pair of teardrops. Go back to the guild? No way, there were just too many drawbacks. First, the expedition group would be down a member. To be fair, she wouldn’t have contributed much to the group, but still. Rylan would be extra mad at her if she dipped. And the sheer thought of going back through the Warp Tower again filled her with… less dread than before? It didn’t matter. She wasn’t going back through that tower until tomorrow afternoon. She was sure of it. “I’m fine,” she repeated again, firmer, and mostly for herself.

He still seemed unconvinced. “If that’s what you want, I guess I can’t stop you from having a good time.” He shook his head. “We should probably start trying to catch up with the group now.”

“Wait, where are they?” Her fears were muted by emotional exhaustion, but they started building nonetheless.

“Probably just around these trees, but I really doubt Wigglytuff left without us-”

She had already started bolting back to the group before he finished his sentence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: only one character in this chapter is cishet


	16. Groudon's Heart

Wigglytuff has warned them about the fog before the hike even began. Even then, a thin layer of it hung in the air. He told them in the event that they did get lost, the Caste of the Mist would eventually find them in a few days (that wasn’t really reassuring, but she didn’t say anything)...

Everyone had remained in one large group for a morning hike. Well it was part hike, part lesson about the Caste’s culture. Apparently, the group occupied a large area just beyond the Warp Tower, and their main camp was about two hours downstream of Fogbound Lake. The closer you got to the lake, the worse the fog got. 

In truth, they were really spending most of the day just outside the Caste’s reservation, save for the lunch and overnight stay (the Caste leader, a Togekiss by the name of Tadewi, had already approved to both, but mentioned something about supplies in return). For the afternoon, the groups would split up into groups of 4 to 5, and would explore along one of the three rivers. And somehow, Grace’s group ended up with the northernmost river. 

“Is it just me, or has the fog been getting a lot worse?” Morpeko asked, changing the subject fairly unprompted.

“Trust me, it’s not just you,” Quilava said. They paused, and turned to face Morpeko (Royal, right?) properly. “This is random, but is today a girl-day or a boy-day?”

“Desmond, I’m terrible at making decisions, and we all know that.”

“Mood,” Bones added.

Grace laughed a little too hard in response, and immediately followed up with a quiet “sorry.” 

Bones opened their mouth to say something, but Rylan’s frustrated growl cut them off. “Why the hell do we have to wear these things?” He wondered aloud, while furiously scratching at the off-white bandana around his neck. His signature double necklace shook with the force.

Bones let out a sigh. “Dude, Chatot has been telling us to get our own bandanas for the trip since the trip was announced. If you wanted a higher quality one, you could have bought one at the shop in town.”

“It’s not that,” he retorted. “I just- why a bandana of all things? Like, yeah, I get that we had to put our team badge somewhere. But I could have very easily clipped it to my necklace, I really don’t see why he had to make a big deal about bandanas.”

“I dunno man, Chatot’s weird like that.” They threw in a shrug. “He’s always like, really picky about rule-following.”

Desmond’s eyes lit up, and they let out a small giggle. “I remember one time Asher was telling us about the first time Chatot yelled at him.”

“Wasn’t that the story with the Guildmaster’s apple?” Royal asked.

“Yeah, that one.” They turned to Grace. “You heard about it, right?”

“No…” Was there a reason she hadn’t heard it yet? Did Asher not think of her as a close enough friend to tell her this? Or was this just really personal? 

“Well, I’m pretty sure this was during his employment training, so long before any of us joined,” they started. “Apparently the Guildmaster had left out one of his apples in the employee break room for a snack. Asher was starving after a long day, and that apple was the only thing in the room. He took about three bites out of it before Chatot walked in and just went absolutely ballistic. Chewed the poor guy out for a solid five minutes, and he was freaking out too because, honestly, Chatot yelling at you is a worse fate than death. And then Wigglytuff walked in, and he-“

This was about the point that something beneath Grace’s paws slipped out from under her, and her yelp of alarm effectively cut off the story. She hit the pebbles beneath the surface of the creek with a loud splash. The cold water shocked her more than the fall, and she quickly rose back to her paws. 

“You good?” Royal asked, trying hard to hold in a laugh, and succeeding more than their teammates.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She started to shake out her pelt, then stopped herself. No one else wanted to get wet, why would try to get everyone else wet? She was the only one who fell in the creek. So she was the only person who was going to be wet. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, just go with it.” 

“Right, sorry,” she said. She quickly realized her mistake, and had to fight the urge to tack on a third ‘sorry.’

“The hell is this?” 

Rylan was still on the creek border, staring at something on the ground. Royal and Desmond were close by and took no time walking over to his side, and Bones wasn’t far behind. Grace dashed over to make sure she wasn’t left behind, the water in her sodden fur sprinkling along the ground. Soon, a circle was formed around the ‘thing’ at Rylan’s paws, whatever it was.

It was some kind of stone. Except, it wasn’t exactly a regular stone. It was closer to a large gem, perfectly carved into the shape of a heart. Its striking red color really stuck out from the muted surroundings of Foggy Forest, and it almost seemed to glow faintly.

“What is it?” Desmond asked, without looking away from the stone.

“I dunno, some rock I guess?” 

Bones shifted, and quickly brushed it with his massively fluffy tail. Then he set it down on the stone. “This feels a lot smoother than- holy crap this thing is warm.”

“Really? Let me feel.” Royal threw Bones’ tail off the stone and put both paws on it. It wasn’t long before their face lit up in mild surprise. “Woah you’re right.” They looked up to address the rest of the group. “Guys, you gotta feel this rock.”

Grace slowly reached out a paw to feel it, but quickly drew it back when both Rylan and Desmond touched it at the same time. As they both remarked about the warmth of the stone, she took a few steps back. Maybe it would be better if they got as much time with the rock without her butting in.

“Hey, you want a turn?” Desmond has also turned away from the rest of the group, but for a different reason. 

“Uh, no, I’m fine,” Grace answered quickly. They had basically just met this morning, why were they so focused on her?

“You sure?” They asked again.

“Yeah.”

It was then that some voices could be heard. They weren’t too terribly distant, probably only a couple dozen feet away. However, the fog around here was so bad it was almost impossible to see things three feet in any direction, hence why they had stayed so close to the creek. But the voices almost sounded… excited.

“Who’s there?” Royal called out to the voices. One of the voices yelled something along the lines of ‘wildfire,’ and Royal shouted back a loud “what?” A different voice answered ‘Team, Wildfire,’ a lot slower and more exaggerated. 

The stone slid over to her paws. Rylan was staring at her with _slightly_ less aggression than usual. “Put it in the bag,” he mouthed as Royal shouted another ‘what’ to the group in the mist. 

She nodded and set her bag on the ground next to the stone. As discreetly as possible, she pushed the stone up the side of the bag. *Holy crap, Royal wasn’t kidding,* she thought before the stone fell into the bag with a soft thump.

She looked back at Rylan. There was a confused look in his eye before he sighed and looked away. Shit, what did she do wrong this time?

A small blue light had appeared in the fog, and began to grow closer by the second. Soon, the silhouette of a Wooper could be seen through the fog. “Guys, holy shit,” he yelled as he ran. 

“Holy shit what?” Royal asked.

He didn’t answer at first since he was too busy catching his breath. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a short coughing fit. Finally, at his third attempt to say something (and after Bones said ‘take your time’), he spit out, “Really cool treasure, north, follow me.” He then bolted off into the fog, almost as fast as he had arrived. 

What on earth was that supposed to mean? What kind of treasure was he talking about? There was no time to ponder it because Desmond and Rylan had already disappeared into the fog, with Royal and Bones close behind. She let out a quiet ‘shit’ as she ran after the fading blue lights.

The fog was growing thicker by the second. It wrapped around her tighter with each step she took. She was practically running in the creek so she wouldn’t lose it. Some voices echoed somewhere in front of her. She didn’t call back, begging them to wait up. That would be a waste of breath. She just had to catch up to them before she lost them.

Something in the water pushed against her leg and she fell again, louder this time. Her head dipped below the surface, and for a moment the stillness of the water muffled the world around her. But the stillness only amplified the beating of her heart. 

She fought back up to the surface quickly. If she wasn’t short of breath before, she was now. She coughed up some of the muddy water as she stood there, dripping with the stuff. Her bag was almost just as wet. But now the voices were gone. 

Shit.

She threw her bag back to the shore. It hit the ground hard, and it was sheer luck that it hadn’t spilled all over the place. Her paws dripped on the grass as she trudged out of the water. She let out a defeated sigh, and let herself shake out her fur. Then she heard a small rip. 

Her Team Badge now rested beside her paw. A small piece of fuchsia fabric clung to the pin. 

Shit.

She pulled out her scarf with her back paw and laid it on the ground. Sure enough, there was a small rip in the fabric, right where her Team Badge had been. 

Shit. 

That scarf was the only tangible link to her past. It was probably pretty gosh dang expensive, or a family heirloom, or something like that. Meaning that someone really special had given it to her, and she ruined it. When they find out, whoever they are, they would be really upset. Then again, it was only a matter of time before she did something to piss them off. There was a good chance that she already had.

“Grace?” She immediately looked up to the forest around her- or rather, the bits of the forest she could see through the fog. She waited in silence for a bit, then shook her head. It was probably just her ears playing tricks on her. Besides, who in their right mind would come back to look for someone like her-

“Oh thank god there you are.” Sadie let out a sigh of relief as she emerged from the fog. “You had me worried there for a second.” 

“Sadie?” Grace asked, kicking her stuff behind her. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” she answered. “We got worried when you didn’t show up with everyone else, so I’m here to help.” She paused, then asked, “Do you need help getting your stuff back together?” 

“I… sure, I guess.”

Sadie grabbed the side of the bag to open it, then dropped it with a weird look on her face. “Yeah, we can probably put your stuff in something dry.” She took out her own bag, and pulled out another bag and a large cloth. “You’ve always gotta be prepared,” she added as she started loading things into the new bag.

They both worked quietly as they dried Grace’s supplies and moved them. It mostly consisted of standard, everyday items: some money, an apple or two, some card that apparently showed that she was a registered apprentice, and that chocolate bar from earlier. Sadie did seem a little surprised when she fished the weird stone out of the damp bag, but didn’t say anything about it.

And then she picked up the scarf. It was soaked, and now sported a decent sized rip. Grace dropped her eyes to the ground. Part of her expected her to make a big fuss about the scarf. But instead, Sadie just grabbed the end of the scarf with both hands. Within seconds, steam started to form. More steam slipped into the air as she worked her way down the scarf. 

This continued until she had reached the end of the scarf. She held it in the air, as if proud of her accomplishment. Then her eyes shifted to Grace. “Do you want help putting this back on?”

She nearly declined the offer, then realized that trying to do it by herself would probably make her look like a fool. “Uh, sure,” she agreed.

Time seemed to slow down as Sadie carefully wrapped the scarf around her neck. The scarf was completely dry, and even had a gentle warmth to it. Almost as warm as her cheeks. 

Sadie picked up the fallen team badge, brushing some mud off its surface. She examined for a bit, before smiling in satisfaction and clipping onto the scarf. “There is a small rip you gotta look out for, but it’s nothing Chimecho couldn’t fix. Just be careful with it for now, okay?”

Grace nodded. Her heart was pounding so loud that she wouldn’t have been able to hear her own words.

She gave a thumbs up, before picking up the bottom of the soaked bag with two fingers. “Yeah, this one’s gonna need a little more work,” she remarked with mild disgust. But before she could start, a set of voices echoed through the woods.

“On second thought, this can wait.” She shifted her grip to the handle with a single motion. “Come on, everyone’s probably worried sick.” 

They both started walking into the fog at the same pace, but it wasn’t long before they had started running into the mist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This is the last chapter that was already fully prepared before I joined Ao3. There will be more time in between each update, but I will work my hardest to make this work the best that it can be. Thanks!


	17. Burning the Sky

The fog had definitely gotten a lot worse. At least when the creek was deep enough to fall into, it was possible for Grace to see the trees on the other side. Now it was impossible to see anything more than a foot in front of her. At least Wigglytuff had been right about the fog being thicker upstream. But that still didn’t explain why the sound of crashing water had grown a lot stronger...

Wait, where was Sadie? She started to look around for her, but quickly stopped herself when she realized how fruitless this would be. Maybe a Will-o-Wisp could help- no, the last time she used that without professional supervision, things went horribly wrong. But maybe Sadie didn’t want to be found by her...

Shouldn’t she be looking for Rylan? Right, yeah, that was a good idea. Probably better than trying to cling to someone she talked to like three times. But what if he didn’t want her with him? There was a good chance that he was complaining about her to some of his real friends right now. Knowing him, he likely didn’t want to go on the guild trip in the first place!

It would have been better for both of them if they had stayed back at the guild, so Rylan could train as much as he wanted, and she could hide in her room for the day. Maybe Skunktank was right. Maybe she wasn’t fit for this trip after all.

It was then that she noticed something jutting out through the mist. Something big. She froze in her tracks, praying that it hadn’t caught sight of her. But after a few tense seconds, it hadn’t moved toward her. It actually hadn’t moved at all. 

She let out a sneeze and immediately tensed up tighter, fearing the worst. Still no movement. After a few more seconds, she loosened her stance. Either this thing was inanimate or asleep in a really weird position. A closer look could probably find that out.

Somehow, not even her usual fear held her back from walking up to… whatever this thing was supposed to be. A large beast, facing the sky with an open mouth, stood atop an equally large pedestal. Both looked to be carved from the same cut of granite, which probably meant that this thing was a statue the whole time. Moss clung to the beast, both as a decoration and a conquest. Two shimmering red gems served as the eyes. But for some reason, a heart-shaped chunk was missing from the chest, clashing with the otherwise spectacular craftsmanship. 

Was this the treasure Wooper was talking about? It certainly looked rare and special enough to be counted as such, but wasn’t treasure normally smaller than this? Why would a statue be counted as a treasure in the first place? Even if this was the treasure, then…

Where was everyone?

“Hello?” She called out into the fog. Dread welled up in her when there was no response. What was she thinking? She wasn’t going to find them like that. Even if they did happen to be close, the deafening sound of the water would end up overpowering her voice almost instantly. 

She didn’t yell as loud the second time. Honestly, she probably deserved to get lost. Better her than someone else. Wigglytuff said the Caste would find her in a couple of days, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world. And if they didn’t? Maybe she deserved that too. Someone who messed up as bad as she did, and as often as she did, deserved to rot in the woods. Alone.

A shout from a familiar voice in the distance threw her off guard. A little blue light danced in the fog. Soon, the silhouette of a familiar figure began to appear.

Oliver seemed somewhat out of breath when he broke through the fog. “Oh thank goodness,” he said with a sigh of relief.

That weird queasy feeling was back, and stronger this time. “What are you doing here?” She asked, then immediately realized how harsh it sounded. “I mean, not like I don’t want you here. I just-“

“No, I know that’s not what you meant,” he said. “As for why I’m here, I heard you went missing so I kinda got worried and started looking for you. But now you’re here and okay and…” he paused, a look of fear and regret beginning to form. “And my group doesn’t know where I am.”

“What?” Maybe the roaring water obstructed his words because there was no way what he said could have been true. 

“Yeah, I know, that was stupid of me.” He looked away.

“No, it’s not that.” 

He looked back at her face, juniper green eyes and all. “What do you mean?”

“I…” It was just that, why would he pull a stunt like that for her of all people? Like, yeah, she could understand it if he did it for someone who was a helpful asset, or someone he was close to. But they had barely met, and she sure as heck wasn’t useful in any way. 

“Nevermind,” she sighed, sitting down and staring down at her paws. There was no way she could say that out loud and make herself seem even more pathetic than before. “It’s nothing.”

He stared at her, a hint of disbelief in his eyes. Then he let out a sigh and sat down next to her. Her heart skipped several beats as his tail brushed against her paw. Despite her damp fur, she could feel her cheeks start to heat up quickly. She didn’t dare look up at his face, because she knew that looking at him would only make it worse. However, a single tear splashing on the ground next to her changed her mind about that pretty quick. 

He was staring at a spot a few inches away, clearly lost in thought. His expression didn’t show anything out of the ordinary. The extra water in his eye reflecting the cloudy light, on the other hand, spoke far louder than his words ever could. A single line of damp fur revealed the first teardrop’s course, with another one on the way. 

“Are you okay?” She asked softly. 

“I don’t know.” His voice shook with his answer. 

It took a few seconds, but she worked up the courage to scoot a little closer to him. Surprisingly, the queasy feeling was starting to fade, and a deep feeling of safety and tender joy began to take its place. He didn’t say anything as a few more tears ran down his face. But he didn’t object in any way. Maybe he was enjoying sitting in silence together as much as she was. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who didn’t want this moment to end.

“Oliver?! Dude where are you?”

Both of them shot to their feet as a voice rang out through the roaring water. To the right, a few blue lights could be seen through the fog, though their movements seemed somewhat aimless. Soon, the voice called out again, accompanied by a few others. 

“He’s over here!” Grace shouted back. A few of the blue lights froze. She could hear a few shouts before they began to grow closer. 

Beatrice quickly burst through the fog. Her stance visibly loosened when she caught sight of her partner, but she muttered something to herself as she caught her breath. 

“Shit, I’m so sorry.” A hybrid of panic and shame radiated from his tone. “I didn’t mean to-“

She cut him off. “Dude, you’ve really got to stop apologizing.”

“Right, sorry.”

She just sighed. “Look, as long you’re okay, that’s all I care about. Just at least give me a warning next time.” She looked up at Grace. “You okay too?”

“Yeah,” Grace answered, a little thrown off. 

She nodded, then shouted, “They’re both okay,” into the fog. There were a few more shouts in return as the lights began to grow closer. 

Chikorita and the rest of Team Go-Getters emerged from the fog, looking relieved. Well, Chikorita and Pichu looked relieved. Cutiefly was grumbling something about damp wings under her breath as she rested on Chikorita’s head.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re both okay!” Pichu proclaimed. 

“Thankfully,” Beatrice added. 

Chikorita let out a small sigh. “Looks like we’re all back together again,” she said with a mellow smile.

“Wait a minute.” Cutiefly boosted herself up as if to make a point. “Grace, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with the rest of your group?”

”Uh…” The rest of her group. Crap. Honestly, she was bound to do something stupid on this trip, but she didn’t think she was going to mess up that badly. She couldn’t just tell them she had simply gotten lost. Twice. In the span of 5 minutes. And what about this group, how would they all perceive her after this whole fiasco? 

“You can stay with our group until we find them again,” Beatrice suggested. “No worries.”

“Didn’t Wigglytuff say all the creeks led to the same spot?” Pichu asked.

“Yeah, he did,” Oliver added. “She should be fine.”

“So are we just gonna gloss over the fact that her group probably doesn’t know where she is?” Cutiefly said.

“Candi, not now,” Chikorita sighed.

“Wh- it’s a legitimate worry, Beth. You're just gonna tell me that I’m wrong?” 

“It’s not wrong, just a tad unnecessary.”

“No, she’s right.” Grace stared at the ground as she voiced her thoughts. “They don’t know where I am.” She felt tears start to form in her eyes with every word. “I- god I’m such an idiot.”

“Hey hey.” Oliver walked up to her. The previous shame in his voice was either gone or buried by his regular old uncertainty. “Look, it’s okay, we’re gonna find your group.”

She shifted her gaze up to his eyes. He didn’t even look like he had been crying moments ago. Lucky. “It's not that,” she reassured. “I just-“

Everyone was looking at her now. Everyone wanted to know what excuse she was going to come up with next. Oh goddammit, was she really about to reveal something like that to a group of practically strangers? That would defeat the entire purpose of keeping all her secrets to herself. “Never mind,” she answered after a pause.

Oliver opened his mouth as if to say something, but a shout to his right called the group’s attention away. A few seconds passed as the shout was heard again, and Pichu yelled back “Polo!”

By now, a small swarm of badge lights had appeared in the direction of the shout. Some chatter could be heard, but not understood from here. There was no doubt about it. The rest of the apprentices had arrived. 

The first apprentice to burst through the fog wasn’t actually an apprentice. It was Asher, who accidentally barreled into Grace. She let out a small yelp as she hit the ground with a hard thud. 

“Holy crap, Grace, I didn’t see you there,” he said. He sounded like he was going to add something else, but he paused as something registered at that moment. “Wait a minute, Grace! You’re okay!”

“Yeah,” she said as she rose back to her paws. Even as she was doing that, more apprentices began to file in with the rest of the group, and a light wave of chatter had begun to start. All of them seemed to have similar reactions, but none of them directly came to her. At least, not at first. 

She was already prepared for when Asher left her side to talk with Team Go-Getters. It did still sting a little, but it was bound to happen. However, she certainly wasn’t ready for someone else to choose to speak with her. 

“Oh my goodness, Grace!” To her surprise, Sadie had actually disconnected from her conversation, clearly choosing to talk to her instead (a horrible decision, really). But the surprises didn’t stop there.

Grace had barely processed this when Sadie threw her arms around her in an embrace. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” she said softly, practically whispering in her ear. She was clearly still shaken by fear but it was starting to ebb away as relief took its place. Grace, on the other hand, felt like her brain was about to short-circuit. 

“God damn, Sadie, I thought you were straight,” Bones remarked from the sidelines.

“I am.” Sadie pulled away from the hug to talk to her teammate, much to Grace’s silent dismay. “I was just really worried about her. We barely made it out of an Infected attack as a group of five, and from what I heard, she was alone for a decent chunk of time.”

Grace barely had any time to recover from that random display of affection, much less process the new information she received, before someone exclaimed, “Hey guys, I found something!” No one reacted at first. But when someone repeated it louder than before, the chatter quieted and the entire group began to move toward the direction of the first voice. 

As the group reformed a little farther to the north, the chatter resumed somewhat louder than before, and with a general air of surprise and awe. Grace walked around the clusters of apprentices to get a better look at whatever they had found. It wasn’t long before she came face to face with a granite beast.

Oh right, the statue. She had forgotten about the statue. 

Asher arrived on the scene shortly after she did. “Oh my goodness. This is… this is incredible!” 

Axew nodded. “Kinda reminds me of some of the wood carvings your dad used to make.”

He perked up at the mention of his father. “Golly, you really think so?”

“Yeah, dude. Pretty sure my dude commissioned one from him a while back. It’s probably still at my family’s home.”

“Was that the one with the Hydreigon?”

“Yup.”

He nodded, his gaze rising back up to the statue. “Yeah, I remember that one took him a while.” He paused. “Although, he didn’t really have a tendency to leave giant holes in the middle of them.”

The conversation continued as a few more apprentices chimed in. Grace, however, felt her thoughts begin to wander from the others. She gazed back up at the statue’s hole. It looked somewhat fresh, and maybe even intentional. But something about the shape’s edges stuck with her. She had definitely seen this exact shape before.

She fiddled with the grass beneath her paws as she tried to remember where. Maybe it was from somewhere in her lost past? No, that shape was recent, she was sure of it. Was it somewhere in the guild? In the town? What about-

Wait a minute.

She put her bag on the wet grass and began to shift through its contents. Her paw quickly hit something warm, and she scooped it out of the bag. Its glow had grown stronger since the last time she saw it. She looked up at the hole, then back at the gem. Sure enough, the shape was the exact same. 

She let out a soft sigh. Finally, a question of hers that got a clear answer. But what exactly was she going to do with this knowledge?

Hold on, she just had one of those weird vivid dreams last night! It had something to do with a lake with a large fountain in the center. Also, Rylan was there for some reason. He had said something about a thing that got rid of fog, and a magical missing piece. 

Wait, the missing piece, that’s it! The red gem went in the statue, and then it would get rid of the fog! She could almost feel her paws start to tingle with excitement as she slid the gem across the ground and rejoined the growing group. However, she quickly realized that hijacking the conversation at the right time was going to be difficult.

“Wh- Derek, that’s the Guildmaster’s Defend Globe!” Asher exclaimed. “Why do you have that?!”

Derek, the Togedemaru from earlier, had a small sea-green sphere in his hands, and a confused look on his face. “Dunno, I just found it.”

Grace opened her mouth to reveal her finding, and almost immediately started to shake. But no one must have seen here pitiful attempts at getting her point across because Axew (Dakota, right?) cut her off before she could even start. “Hang on, isn’t that the treasure that Atlas got us so hyped about earlier?” 

Derek just shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Huh.” She put her hands on her hips and nodded.

“What?” 

“Nothing, I just-“ she paused, trying to think of the right words. “I thought it’d be bigger.”

“That’s what she said!” Atlas exclaimed, practically materializing out of thin air.

Asher sighed. “Well, I guess as long as it’s not lost, it’s not the end of the world. But we should probably get this back to the Guildmaster ASAP.” He grabbed the orb with a paw and put it into his own bag. 

There was barely a pause as Desmond had stepped forward. “Isn’t that like a treasure for a Bug Type or something?”

“Yeah, I was just talking to Croagunk about it,” Royal added. “I’m pretty sure he said that was-“ they paused, and snapped their fingers as they came up with an answer. “-Defend Orb! That’s what it was.” 

“Dude, why were you talking to Croagunk?” Candi, who was still resting on Beth’s head, interjected.

“Cause we got back early and there wasn’t anyone else to talk to?”

The conversations between apprentices only grew louder as each set tried to make themselves heard over not only one another but also the nearby rapids. Now Grace backed out of the massive group entirely, the boost to her mood already wearing off. Why did she think that was going to work? She let out a soft sigh. Even if she was close friends with someone in the group, it wasn’t like she would have the courage to be a part of the conversation, much less the center of it.

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!”

Grace flinched hard as a shout broke through the clamour, and effectively ended it. All eyes turned to Rylan. He hesitated for a moment before he cleared his throat. “I think Grace has something to tell you all.”

The attention shifted over to her. She felt petrified as fourteen sets of eyes stared her down. Any attempts at a sentence evaporated on her tongue. A growing, sharp pain in her chest seemed to mock her. She wanted to run away as fast as she could, but couldn’t. Instead, she just stood there as the worst terror filled her to her core. “Uh, so, there’s this rock that I found, like, ten minutes ago.” She could already feel her throat start to close up as she spoke. “And, uh, I mean…”

“Oh Grace, you found the weird gem!” It was Oliver’s words that finally put a stop to her terrible attempt of getting her point across. Before she could say anything, he slid it toward the center of the group. And more importantly, away from Grace. The conversation sparked up again, but this time it was either questions about the gem, or remarks about its bizarre warmth. 

Grace barely heard them as she fought an uphill battle to keep herself from crying. But why? Oh, was she scared of talking now, was that what it was? Yeah, that would be fine in certain contexts, but no one had been forcing her to talk. She consented to participation, dammit! It wasn’t that hard to talk to a group of people for like twelve seconds. But no, she just had to make herself look like an idiot in front of these people that she was supposed to be helping. Still didn’t explain why she felt like collapsing then and there.

It was then that she noticed Rylan had been staring at her. As soon as her eyes met his, he was the one to look away first. As his gaze traveled to the ground, then back to the rest of the group as they took turns feeling the gem, he didn’t seem to have nearly as much aggression as usual. She could have sworn that he almost looked… concerned? No, that couldn’t be right. Why would he feel the need to be concerned about her? He was forceful, and unapologetic, and if she was being honest, kind of terrifying when angry. He didn’t give a shit if he hurt someone’s feelings. He even stood up to Chatot. Multiple times! Why would he have any reason to feel pity for her?

“Wait a second.” Asher didn’t make too much of an attempt to be heard over the entire crowd, but he managed to get a good portion of their attention regardless. “Alice, can I see the gem again real quick?”

“Sure.” Pichu slid the gem across the damp grass. It came to a stop right beside his paw. He then proceeded to pick it up with both paws and held it up in front of his view of the statue. It was almost possible to see the gears turning in his head as he moved the gem away from the statue, and moved it back. Then his eyes light up in a eureka moment.

“Of course.” He set the gem down and stood back up. “It’s the exact shape of the weird hole in the statue.”

The intrigued looks of the apprentices quickly shifted to understanding as they caught on with his logic. But Atlas was the first one to speak up. “Wait, that probably means it’s a broken part of the statue!”

“Exactly!” 

“Great!” Sadie said. “Now what are we going to do?”

“We put it back, obviously,” Bones answered with a small shrug.

“And how exactly are you planning to do that?” Rylan asked.

“Leave that to us!” Alice and Beth stepped forward. 

As Asher slid the gem back to Alice, Grace left out a sigh. Thank god they figured out the mystery of the statue without much more help. The sheer thought of speaking in front of all those people again filled her with fear so potent she almost started crying again. Or was that feeling left-over from earlier? Honestly, who knew at this point?

The two members of Team Go-Getters looked at each other and gave a quick nod. The third member, however, quickly shot to her feet. “Hang on, if you guys are gonna do that thing, at least let me get off first,” Candi stopped them, a slight panic in her voice. 

Beth paused, then chuckled to herself. “No, it’s not going to be that. We’re doing something… safer.” Candi didn’t look fully convinced but laid back down anyway. 

Two of the small nubs on the back of Beth’s neck flashed faintly. Then they began to grow, and fast. Grace took a step back as the tendrils stretched higher than the statue. The vines then lowered back down and wrapped securely around Alice’s waist. She was gracefully lifted off the ground and raised right to the hole in the statue. “Okay, can you reach it?” Beth asked.

Alice reached a hand out, and almost pushed against the granite surface. “Yeah, you’re good.” She held up the stone with both hands now, then turned back down to look at her partner. “If things go south, Plan B is still on the table.” Beth nodded.

Alice drew in a breath and put the gem into the hole. It fit perfectly. There was even a faint click as it settled in its place. Grace felt anticipation start to boil in her chest as she waited for the statue’s reaction.

There were a few whoops and cheers as Alice was lowered back to the ground. But nothing happened. No, that couldn't be right. The stone was almost certainly the missing piece for the statue. Why hadn’t it gotten rid of the fog? Perhaps they put it in at the wrong time. Or only a certain person could actually trigger it. There was always the chance her vision was wrong. She lowered her head in shame. It was probably just a nonsense dream after all.

The statue’s eyes flared to life. A previously hidden pattern began to glow red, tracing down from the eyes and around the body. The patterns ended at the restored heart, which then began to glow as well. Then the ground began to rumble.

A bolt of fresh panic shot through Grace. Oh god, what was happening? And more importantly, where was a safe place to hide? But between the tremors in the earth, the pre-existing rumble of water, and the frantic yelling of all her teammates, she could hardly think. The wind picked up too, as if things weren’t already hectic enough. Her surroundings were quickly lost to the rapidly swirling fog. On top of that, a wave of tears began to distort her vision even more. Staying on her paws became harder and harder with each passing second. Can’t move, can’t think, can’t breathe, can’t cry- don’t you dare start crying now.

Something fired nearby and she screamed. Even through the increasingly thick fog and her blurry eyes, she could see a beam of light shooting straight into the sky. Then the light overtook her surroundings. 

She didn’t remember hitting the ground, or the reason why her ears were ringing at that moment. She just remembered a cold something prodding her back to consciousness. There could have been a voice too, but it sounded too distant for her to be sure. She felt sunlight on her fur. Wait, sunlight? She thought this place was so dense with fog that not even sunlight could break through. But lo and behold, the sun was out, and she flinched at its brightness.

“Grace?” The voice still sounded distant, but she could understand it now. “Grace, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She rose to her paws, still blinking from the harsh sunlight. 

The voice sighed softly. “Oh thank gods, you really had me worried there.”

Hang on, that was Oliver. Oliver was talking to her right now. She felt her cheeks flush with heat. But she didn’t feel queasy this time. Sure, there was some embarrassment somewhere in the mix. She almost felt...safe? No, something was off. She literally could have died just seconds ago, why would she feel even remotely safe? 

She looked back up at him, almost as if she expected him to have the answer. He wasn’t looking at her. He was instead marveling at the sight in front of him. She followed his gaze and suppressed a gasp of wonder as she took in the previously hidden scenery. 

An impossibly tall goblet-shaped structure stuck out of the ground. An assortment of plants in various sizes clung to the structure's exterior. Eight white marble pillars held it up, but those barely even reached halfway to the top. The mist from the waterfalls cascading from the top created a light mist, which was a pleasant change after the choking fog. 

Grace stood in awe. She had never seen anything so spectacular. Did Oliver think the same thing? She turned to him, only to find he was already looking at her. They both tore their gazes away from each other at the same time, just like earlier. But this time was different. Instead of mutual awkward silence, they both let out a few light giggles. A fuzzy feeling started to radiant in her chest as she smiled to herself. Finally, an emotion that she could get behind. She looked at him again. He was staring at the ground, smiling softly with pink-tinted cheeks. God, he was so cute.

“Uh, guys? We’ve got company!”

Desmond’s shout tore her out of this precious moment. She turned behind her, and fear immediately rocked through her. 

Now that the fog had cleared, she could properly see the forest. And with it, a trio of Pinsirs. But something was off about them. Their movements were shambly, almost as if they were weighed down by invisible chains. And their eyes looked to be both devoid of emotion and crazed. A chorus of low growls could be heard. There was no doubt about it. That had to be the Infected hoard Sadie was talking about. 

Grace had to jump back to avoid one. It charged past her, but quickly stopped and turned back to her. She took a step back, and to her horror, she realized she was trapped between the beast and the statue. Her heart began to pound hard. The beast let out a low growl, and it almost seemed happy. She closed her eyes, waiting for the monster to finish her off.

There was a yowl, and the sound of two bodies hitting the ground. But no pain. She opened her eyes, only to find that Rylan had tackled it, and now stood tensely as it regained its footing. Sparks rippled through his fur, but unlike most other times she had seen them, they looked intentional. 

Nearby, she saw Atlas charge at another one, and they collided head-on. It barely flinched, but it was completely unaware of Sadie. Quickly, she cloaked herself in flames and drop-kicked it. It staggered, and all it took was a well-placed vine whip from Beth to knock it down. 

Further away, Derek, Beatrice, Royal, and Alice were all taking turns sidestepping a different Pinsir and firing ranged attacks at it. The one closest to her was already surrounded by the rest of the apprentices. She let out a sigh. The situation seemed perfectly under control. Then she screamed as a sharp pain pierced her shoulder. 

In a flurry of flapping wings and screeching, she struggled to break free of the attacker’s talons. Then, a beam of energy shot right over her head, and the talons ripped free from her skin. She fought back another scream. Oliver bolted over to her side. “Holy crap, are you okay?” he asked, panic welling in his voice.

“Yeah,” she answered through gritted teeth. A metallic tang filled her nose as blood ran from her wounds, but she tried not to mention it. “How about you?”

“I’m okay, but we really need to get this thing healed.”

“It doesn’t even hurt that much,” she lied. 

He looked like he was about to say something else, but the daylight flickering above distracted them both. And it was all Grace could do to not let out a horrified gasp. 

A massive flock of brown birds circled overhead. A clamor of squawking could be heard from the ground, but none of it sounded like actual words. The chorus of noise seemed to lessen for a second as the flock shifted in the sky. Then they all charged. 

“Run.” Asher’s words were little more than a whimper, and could barely be heard over the flock. But he didn’t make the same mistake twice. “Everyone run!” 

Grace didn’t need to be told again. She took off immediately, not once looking back at the cloud of beaks and talons. Her paws slammed against the ground with every stride as her mind screamed at her to run faster. But to where? Oh god, was there even a place to hide from this attack?

Something whipped in front of her and she froze. Big mistake. Within seconds, a swarm of them had latched onto her back, drowning out her screams with their squawks. Flesh and fur tore at their talons. She fell to the ground as beaks tore at her legs. The pain was unbearable and was growing every second.

Then a wave of heat washed over her. The squawking got louder before dissipating entirely. But the heat didn’t hurt. In fact, it almost seemed to ease the intense pain a little. She shifted her paws, feeling burnt grass crumble beneath them. War cries and screams of pain sounded all around her. She wearily lifted her head. That’s when she saw something that gave her a small spark of hope.

There was a cave hole at the base of the goblet structure. It looked large enough to fit into, but it was impossible to tell how far back the cave extended. But it was something they could hide in. 

She fought back to her paws. They were trembling with the effort, but she didn’t care. “This way!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. With every last scrap of her energy left, she made a beeline for the cavern, and didn’t stop even when the darkness consumed her completely.


	18. Steam Cave

Every pawstep echoed off the walls of the cavern as she descended deeper into the humid(?) darkness. The scratches along her back still stung, but she kept running. It was impossible to see anything. That didn’t matter. She had to get away, now. Don’t stop running. Don’t you dare stop running.

Pain shot through her muzzle as she collided headfirst into a wall hidden by the dark. Her yelp of pain echoed off the cavern walls. She gingerly rubbed her nose with a paw, and froze when she felt blood. But now that she had stopped, she was able to catch her breath and calm down. Somewhat.

Okay, this may or may not be the other end of the cavern. That Fearow hoard probably wasn’t going to find her in here. That was good. Unless, of course, they followed her in. If that was the case, then she was royally fucked. She risked a glance back at the cave mouth. 

Nothing had followed her in. She let out an exhausted sigh of relief. She was safe. And alone. Wait, where was everyone? 

As if they were summoned, Royal barreled through the cave mouth and flattened themself against the nearest wall. They were breathing rather heavily, but the contrast between the cave darkness and the sudden sunlight outside made it difficult to tell if they had injuries.

They shifted to look back outside. From where Grace stood, it was hard to see anything. But shadows danced like a living mosaic in the light that escaped into the cave. And even though it was muffled, she could still hear the screams of battle and-

Wait a minute, her teammates were still out there. Fighting for their lives. 

She had to help them, she was a bad teammate if she didn’t. But how? She knew for a fact that she couldn’t fight for crap, or even summon a Will-o-Wisp properly. But she had to help.

“Grace!” Royal’s voice caught her off guard. The shadow casted on them made it impossible to tell which direction they were facing, much less discern their expression. “Help me out here.”

“Oh-uh, sure,” she said quickly, dashing over to their side. The massive firefight continued on as if neither of them had left. She felt her heart begin to race by just looking at it, and retreated behind the wall, turning to Royal. They were studying the battlefield intensely, and it was just now that she noticed that their fur had changed from yellow and black to purple and black. 

Then they turned to her, crimson eyes glittering with determination. “Okay, I’ve got a plan, but it’s gonna be risky.” They dug through their bag and pulled out a large crimson seed pit with black spots. “You see this?”

She nodded. “It’s a blast seed,” they continued. “Very flammable, mostly used by fire types to extend their range of fire.”

She paused. “Wait, so am I going to use it to-”

“No, I’m gonna zap it and have it explode further away from us. Preferably at that flock.” They pointed up and out, toward a decent sized swarm of Fearow, scanning the terrain for their next victim. “All you have to do is Tail Whip it into the air. Got it?”

“Yep,” she answered, too scared to tell them that she didn’t. 

“Alright, just go right outside the cave and I’ll give you a countdown.”

She took a step out and then froze. “Wh- you want me to go outside?”

“Yes! I’d rather not have this thing explode on us!” They paused. “Well, I’d rather not have it explode on me. You’d probably be fine ‘cause you got Flash Fire and all that jazz.”

She opened her mouth to object further, but stopped herself. They were probably right. This was the best plan, even if it was at the expense of her life. She just swallowed and stepped out into the light. 

Now that she could see just how bad things really were. Cloud cover casted the battlefield into shadows. Cries from both sides filled the air. Blood was splattered against the grass. It was madness. There was no way to tell who was winning. But there was one thing she knew. Her teammates, they were in danger. They needed a hero.

And that hero sure as hell wasn't going to be her.

“Focus, Grace!” She jumped as Royal’s shout cut through her thoughts. They had tossed their bag aside, and held the blast seed in their left hand. “You ready? Cause we’ve only got one shot.” 

She nodded. But her anxiety must have shown through because they added, “No pressure or anything.” 

Yup, absolutely no pressure at all. It wasn’t like messing up now could greatly wound her, or worse, wound her allies. And it certainly wasn’t like the other apprentices were depending on her success, no siree. 

“Heads up!” They yelled. Then the seed was in the air.

She barely had any time to think. And for once, that was a good thing. There was no opportunity for her to second guess her actions as she spun on a single paw and launched the seed upward with her tails. It hit a Fearow just outside on the swarm right in the head. But it didn’t combust. Not at first. As it began its descent, she saw a small bolt of lighting shoot up from the ground and hit it dead on. 

A blinding explosion of fire lit up the cloudy sky. She let out a cry as an impossibly blaring bang sounded. Then her ears began to ring. Loudly. It continued to grow as she stood there, blinking after the light of the explosion painted the world a few shades darker. 

Someone ran into her side and she nearly fell over. It was Asher. But something was off. His mouth was moving, quite frantically even. But she couldn’t hear his words at all. Oh stars, was she deaf now? No, she wasn’t. She couldn’t be. She was already useless enough as she was, she couldn’t afford to lose a sense now!

Asher’s gaze turned to the sky, and fear filled his eyes before he turned and booked it to the cave mouth. What did he see? She looked up, only to find all the Fearows had left the ground, and now circled above. Were they leaving? No, that wasn’t it. They were just lazily floating around. Then they all dove straight to her.

The flock wasn’t retreating, it was regrouping! 

Adrenaline shot through her veins as she turned and fled back to the cave, not daring to look behind her. Fortunately, it wasn’t far, and she was back in the safety of the darkness in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, so was everyone else.

She didn’t realize she was on a collision course with Rylan until she had already bowled him over. “Shit! I’m sorry!” She couldn’t hear her own voice over the ringing in her ears. “I’m so sorry!”

She didn’t catch his response. To be fair, the cave was a stark contrast from the bright outside. Not to mention, she was temporarily(?) down a sense. Oh, and she was far more worried about the Fearow flock charging at the cave mouth.

Something began rumbling beneath the floor. Oh stars, did someone trigger a trap? More importantly, was she the one who triggered it, dooming her teammates even more in an already deadly situation? By now, the ringing was beginning to die down just enough to hear shouting. It was all just a mess of noise, and the only one she could pick out was the shrill skwak of an incoming foe.

But right before it could get inside and begin terrorizing the group even more, a stone slab shot up from the floor, effectively closing the entrance. And throwing them in darkness. 

If Grace was scared before, she was utterly petrified now. The world had warped into a blank void that could have threats anywhere. And she wouldn’t ever know until it was far too late. There were definitely more traps in the cave, but what kinds. Were there poison traps? Arrow traps? Poison arrow traps? Now that the darkness choked them completely, it was only a matter of time before she triggered a death trap and got her and her allies killed in a painfully slow and graphic way-

“Grace!”

“Yes sorry!” She yelped instinctively. Hold on. The ringing in her ears was getting quieter, she actually heard someone say something, whoever it was. Which meant she wasn’t actually going deaf. Thank god. 

But she was (for the time being) still hearing impaired, because she couldn’t hear anything they said after they dropped their voice to a murmur. And she wasn’t about to interrupt them just to tell them to speak up. She just turned her gaze away, toward what she hoped was a wall.

Then a horn touched her head. She stiffened immediately. But fortunately, she barely had any time to freak out before a warm sensation flooded her. It soon began to overcome the throbbing pain in her shoulder, until the pain was almost forgotten entirely. It didn’t even resurface as the sensation faded. Maybe there was a scar now, but it didn’t hurt anymore.

“Thanks,” she said softly. They said something back, but she still couldn’t hear it. Or maybe that was someone else. Multiple voices had risen since the ringing had begun to fade. 

“... calm down!” One voice rang out above the others. She could have sworn it was Asher’s. 

“Okay... situation looks bad...” For once, she could actually catch a few words that weren't lost to the ringing. Unfortunately, she still had no clue what he was saying. “... can’t find a way out... emergency signals... break us out...” 

The blue light of his badge moved a bit, before vanishing entirely. Probably just from him turning it around. “... switch on the side, but you’ve got to turn off the safety lock first.” When the light returned, it was now flashing at a steady rhythm. “Now any teams in the area will know that we need help, but no one is badly injured.” 

What followed was a series of soft clicks (which, thank god she could hear that) as the emergency signals flick on. She sat down and pawed at her badge until she felt the switch. Surprisingly, the switch extended when she pushed on it. That may have been the safety lock. She pushed it down, and sure enough, her own badge began to flash rhythmically. Okay, now what?

“So, do we just, wait here until someone finds us?” Someone who sounded like Rylan asked the question for her.

“Unless we find another way out of here, then yes.”

Right after he said that, an odd pattern on the walls began to glow yellow. It grew brighter as it chased the cave darkness away and oh my god she was standing next to Oliver this whole time. But before she could do anything else, the floor started to rumble as a wall on the opposite end of the cave began to move. Soon enough, a hidden staircase leading up was visible.

Rylan looked at the new path for about 3 seconds before stating, “Sweet. I’m checking this thing out.” 

“Wait, hold on,” Asher objected. “We should wait here so the other rescue teams know where to find us. Together. As in no splitting up.” 

“You said it yourself, we could leave if we find another way out. And I don’t know about you, but this place-” he motioned toward the glowing wall patterns, “-seems like it would have some pretty cool shit hidden around.”

“Well, it also seems like it would have some pretty dangerous stuff here. Like, this place looks pretty, you know, sacred. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone or something is guarding it. And I don’t know about you, but I would prefer to not piss it off and get us all killed.” He let out a heavy sigh, but Grace could have sworn she heard a few words woven in.

“What did you say?” Rylan spat. His ears flattened against his skull as sparks began to crackle along his pelt.

Asher took a step back. But a look of courage quickly rose. “I said that you probably don’t care about anyone but yourself!”

Rylan blinked. The sparks died down just as quickly as they had formed. 

Asher kept going. “Yeah, I’ve seen how you treat the other Guild members, and basically everyone. Even Chatot! You never seem to have an ounce of respect for anyone. It’s almost like it’s physically impossible for you to be a good person!”

His eyes hardened as his front claws extended on the stone floor. He looked like he was more than ready to claw the living shit out of Asher. But he didn’t. Instead, he just let out a sharp huff and bolted up the stairs.

“Rylan!” Grace called out, running after him. But as soon as her paws hit the first step, she paused. No one else had even moved to follow her. Continuing her pursuit meant going against everyone else, isolating herself even further. So she didn’t. She just scurried back to the ranks without another word.

Asher let out a sigh, that previous courage already fading. “Maybe that was a little harsh.”

“Are you kidding?” Beatrice spoke up. “He totally deserved a wake-up call like that! I mean, anyone who would even think about talking back to Chatot can’t be trusted.”

A small chorus of laughter rang out. Grace joined in, but a hollow feeling filled her chest. She shouldn’t be mocking her teammate like this. But at the same time, maybe he deserved this. He was a bit of a jerk, that much was true. However, he wouldn’t just join the guild without some good intention-

No. He didn’t have a good reason. She had forced his hand. And now he was miserable. Maybe if they had never met, he would actually be happy. That night a few weeks ago, when he told her he wanted to be there. He was just lying to make her feel better. She was sure of it. 

“Hey Grace?” She flinched as Dakota called her name. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I was just spacing out there for a second.” 

“Well try not to get too lost up there,” Atlas chimed in, “or else the Lake Banshee’s gonna steal your soul.” He emphasizes the last few words with a dramatic voice. This, of course, earned him a backhand from Dakota.

“I’m sorry, the what?” 

“Just some old wives tale about a cryptid that’s rumored to live in Fogbound Lake,” Dakota answered with a bored tone. “Apparently it takes the soul of anyone who finds the lake. Which, but the way, has nothing to do with spacing out.” She shot a glance at Atlas. 

“No, no,” Desmond stepped forward, “ the Lake Banshee takes the memory of anyone who finds the lake. If they took souls, there would be a lot more missing Pokemon cases. Also, I don’t think Wigglytuff would send us here.”

“Actually, I agree with both of you,” Bones added.

“What?”

“Hear me out. They probably erase the memory of the public so that no-one remembers the victim. Obviously.”

“Uh, you’re forgetting the most important part,” Dakota said. “The whole thing’s an old wives tale.”

“Says the girl who still thinks the world’s gonna end in High Summer,” Atlas shot back.

Now the look in her eyes shifted from indifference to mild determination. “Okay, at least that theory has some solid evidence to back it up.”

“Like what?” Alice asked out of genuine curiosity.

“For starters, some researchers talked to a bunch of mons with varying levels of foresight, and they found out that no one could see past the 21st of High Summer. Like, not even the Elder Xatu couldn’t get further than 5ish in that morning.”

“That honestly sounds like some batshit crazy theory from a guy who’s just trying to scare people for a quick buck,” Beatrice sighed. 

“Well, two Time Gears have already been stolen, so I’d say we’re perfectly on track for-”

“What?!” The neighboring conversations shut down as Asher called out in alarm. “You mean the second Time Gear has already been- why are you so calm about this!?”

“It was in the paper this morning. I thought you already knew.”

“I was busy with prepping for the guild trip, so I didn’t get a chance to.”

“Welp, now you know.”

“Hang on,” Grace asked. “Did they find out who the culprit is?”

Dakota shrugged. “Nope. But they did find out something decent.”

“And what was that?”

“They know whoever did it is a Shadow Pokemon.”

Now this got everyone’s attention. 

“Yep, we’re dead.” A nervous smile accompanied a panicked look on Oliver’s face. “If a Shadow Pokemon is doing this, we’re so dead.”

Candi, on the other hand, looked mildly confused. “Aren’t Shadow Pokemon those mons that are completely consumed by the darkness in their own hearts? Like, to the point where they just become ruthless killing machines?”

“Yes!”

“Oh,” she responded. “Shit.”

“Hang on,” Derek interjected. “How did they figure out the culprit’s a Shadow without actually finding them?”

Dakota sighed. “They found a pitch black leaf at the crime scene. Next question.”

“Yes, but that could just be from a melanistic mon,” Sadie said.

“Except how many melanistic mons radiate a dark aura that even the densest Psychic types can pick up on?”

“You never mentioned that part!”

Grace felt her head spin as new information bombarded from all directions. What was this Lake Banshee? What powers did it have, if it was even real in the first place? And Shadow Pokemon; if they were so dangerous, why was she just now hearing about them? Not to mention, she still didn’t know what a Time Gear was!

She got no time to ponder any of this before a ferocious roar sounded from somewhere above them. Whatever it was sounded colossal. And very angry.

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a Lake Banshee,” Bones remarked. 

“Oh goodness, this is exactly what I was worried about.” A heavy amount of fear was woven into Asher’s words.

“At least we probably aren’t the ones who pissed it off,” Derek reassured.

Grace looked up at the ceiling. Loose dirt sprinkled on them as the floor above them shook. “Well then, what did?” She asked. It was then that a horrifying realization hit her like a frigid ocean wave.

Rylan.

The ceiling shook again, but this time the floor trembled with it. “I really hope this place isn’t about to collapse on us,” Alice said.

Grace barely heard her. She was too busy sprinting up the stairs. She could see the top already, it wasn’t too far. Wait no, that was just a wall. Sure enough, the stairs continued past the first flat bit. She barely slowed her pace as she climbed up the second set of stairs. Then the third set. Then the fourth. 

By the fifth set, she had to stop and catch her breath. It was then that she moved her glance from the stairs, and over to the walls. Those glowing lines were still on the walls, casting some light in what would have been sheer cave darkness. They continued beyond her, the color almost seeming to move up the off-sand walls. In fact, they almost seemed to follow her from below.

But her friends hadn’t.

No. She wasn’t their friend. They were all just friendly strangers that had the misfortune of putting up with her for the past few hours. There was a good chance they didn’t even notice she was gone. Maybe they didn’t even care.

She shook her head. She didn’t have the time to wrestle with this now. Not when her partner was in danger. Drawing in a deep breath, she continued her path at a brisk pace. 

The higher she climbed, the most her blunt claws echoed off the stairwell. She had to pause for breath on the ninth set, then again on the sixteenth. But finally, after twenty sets of stairs, she reached the top. 

It looked the same as the rest as the rest of the walls, aside from the open doorway complete with a stone arch. The glowing yellow lines all gathered around the arch, where each rock pulsed a brilliant yellow. Some words were carved above the arch. In that language she couldn’t read, of course. But before she passed through, she paused.

The outside lead to a ‘valley’ of tall gray stone and messy cobblestone floor. The fog had already returned, and for some reason seemed far thicker above the stone wall than within it. But the most concerning part was that there seemed to be no other entrances or exits.

There was no doubt about it. This was most certainly a trap. 

But at least she finally found Rylan.

He turned his head before she even called his name, probably because he heard her coming. “What are you doing here?” Fortunately, most of his rage seemed to have died down. Or maybe he was just hiding it just below the surface. Either seemed possible.

“I-uh- was looking for you. Everyone was talking about dangerous stuff, and I-”

“Yeah, yeah.” He cut her off. “He was just saying that to scare you onto his side. Besides, this looks like the top, and the most dangerous thing I found was a flight of stairs.” He muttered something about wondering where the lake was under his breath,

“I know. But this place, it, you know, feels sort of like a trap.” She lowered her voice for the last bit.

He let out a short chuckle. “Oh please. This damn cave was already hidden by some dumbass puzzle. Do you really think-”

The doorway slammed shut. A stone, perfectly carved for its jobs, had shot up from the ground right in the hole of the doorway. Trapping them. Soon, fog began to flood the battlefield. She and Rylan ended up standing back to back as she frantically searched for the threat.

Then the ground began to shake. Rhythmically, almost like the footsteps of a massive beast. 

Shit shit shit shit shit shit-

A deafening roar sounded as the fog began to thin out. The sight that greeted her made her blood run cold.

It was the beast that the statue had depicted. Except it was five times bigger, and a burnt red instead of granite colored. Yellow lines flickered along its body. And it was looking right at her with a murderous gaze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy pride month and fuck cops


	19. Guardian

Time seemed to slow down. Her limbs were frozen as fear rocked her to the core. All she could do was stare into those murderous orange eyes. Then it lifted its head to the heavens and let out another earth-shattering roar before lumbering toward them.

No choice but to fight now. 

“What do we do?” Her voice had dropped to a whimper after the roar subsided.

“Kick its ass,” Rylan said without an ounce of hesitation.

“What?”

He didn’t answer. He had already started charging at the beast’s foot, claws extended. He leapt… and promptly slipped off its stone scales before even getting the chance to grab a hold of anything. There weren’t even scratch marks on the beast’s hide. 

It raised a foot just above where Rylan had fallen. He let out a quick yelp and bolted away seconds before it would have crushed him.

Okay, shit. Her turn. But what could she even do? It seemed to be resistant to standard attacks, as Rylan had so gracefully demonstrated. What about a move? Tail Whip wouldn’t do anything useful here, that was for sure. Maybe Will-o-Wisp? But there was nowhere to aim! Unless…

She drew in a breath and focused. Which was really hard to do, but she managed. Somehow. Soon, a small flame sprouted up out of nowhere. It actually looked more sickly than her last attempt. Not her best, but it would do.

Gathering up every last bit of courage, she threw the flame at its face. Miraculously, it hit the dead center of its right eye. The ground shook as it roared in pain. Then it turned to her with the left side of its face, abandoning its quest of killing Rylan. In favor of killing her.

Goddammit.

It stomped its foot again, this time without aiming at anything in particular. She barely had time to react before a pointed stone shot up from the ground, slicing through her paw pad. She stumbled back a few steps, horrified by the sheer amount of blood staining the ground.

The sky darkened above her. She looked up, only to find the beast’s hand ready to crush her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she tried to leap out of the way.

But she didn’t move fast enough.

White hot pain shot through her as its hand slammed down on her back. She dug her claws into the ground and screamed. Her cry echoed off the enclosure’s walls. Someone shouted her name. Or maybe not. The pain made it too hard to focus on anything.

A deep grumble sounded behind her. Her heart skipped at least five beats. She turned around, and felt her blood freeze over.

The beast was looking right at her. Those murderous eyes stared her down like she was prey. And she was. Even through the blur of tears, she could see just how sharp its teeth were. 

It was then that the fogbound arena lit up with golden lightning. Some bolts struck the tops of the enclosure. Others hit the cobblestone, scarring the ground in its wake. But most of the storm flew straight toward the chest of the beast. And it roared in pain.

An explosive of dirt and dust polluted the air even further. She closed her eyes. The crushing weight on her back left as it staggered backward. But its footsteps didn’t make the earth tremble like they had before. In fact, she couldn’t even hear its footsteps anymore. 

But she didn’t have time to ponder this, as a set of jaws grabbed her by the scruff and started to drag her backwards. She struggled against it for a moment, before realizing that the jaws were dragging her away from the monster. 

Rylan, after dragging and dropping her outside of the epicenter, let out a few violent coughs. His legs quivered, and he looked seconds away from collapsing. But there were no visible wounds.

Drawing in a breath, she tried to stand and walk closer to him. She couldn’t. Couldn’t stand, couldn’t walk. Couldn’t even feel her hind legs. Oh god, did this thing break her back? Maybe. But it would probably be better to address it later, when they weren’t fighting for their lives.

“Are you okay?” she asked, giving up her attempts to move closer. 

He wiped his mouth with a paw, a small red mark staining his paw. “I’m fine. What about you?”

“But, was that move supposed to hurt you too?”

He shrugged. “I’m still technically learning it.” His gaze hardened slightly. “Also don’t dodge the question.”

Welp, looks like she would end up addressing it now. But would he be upset that she couldn’t help fight anymore. Oh goddammit, there was no way to hide a broken back in the first place. “Well, actually-”

Something shifted in the dust cloud. To her horror, the beast rose up again. Without any sort of damage. It didn't even look like it was aware that it had been attacked.

Rylan took a step back. “No… that was my strongest attack, how did it-”

Before he could finish his thought, it raised a claw and swiped at them. Rylan managed to make an impossible leap over it, and landed squarely on the ground. Grace, on the other hand, couldn’t even attempt to make a jump like that. It hit her with tremendous force, and she was thrown into the wall.

Or rather, she was thrown through the wall.

She came to a rolling stop on the sandy shore. As she blinked sand out of her eyes, she caught sight of the not-so-ordinary wall she passed through. It was translucent on this side, and still seemed to ripple from her impact. Not to mention, she could still see Rylan fighting for his life against the beast. Her breath caught in her throat. Oh shit, Rylan was still fighting for his life. She jumped to her paws and raced back into-

Hold on. Her paws slid as she skidded to a stop. She… she could stand? She flexed her hind legs a few times. They were fine. They didn’t even feel slightly stiff. But her back was broken. How was this possible?

Maybe because she didn’t actually break her back, and she was overreacting again. Yeah, that sounded right, considering her track record. But what about her paw? That one hurt a lot, and unlike the break, she had actually seen the cut. She sat down and twisted her paw to look at the pad.

Nothing. No cut. No pain. There wasn’t even any sort of blood! What on earth was going on?

She was dead. The blow must have killed her instantly, that had to be it. And this… ridiculously foggy lakeshore must be some sort of purgatory. Which meant that her new life was over.

Melancholy filled her chest. Her new life was over? She hadn’t even done anything yet! She hadn’t had a sleepover, or kissed a guy. Or even figure out the truth of her old life. Did this really have to be the end? At least it had been quick. 

Letting out a defeated sigh, she scratched her shoulder with a back paw. And flinched at the dull ache that flared up on impact. 

What the heck!? The injury on her paw was gone, but the one on her shoulder wasn’t? Okay, something definitely wasn’t adding up here. 

It was then that she noticed something further onshore. A rainbow light was coming from… inside the rock formation? No, there was a slim crack in the rock. Something was hidden in there. And whatever it was could probably tell her what the actual hell was going on. 

A muffled roar sounded. Guilt pricked her heart, but she continued onward. The sooner she got to the bottom of this, the sooner her partner would stop suffering. 

She was probably going to have to crawl through the slim crack. It was going to be tight, but there had to be a way in. Right? She stood at the rock with the rainbow crack. Then immediately realized there was a much wider side entrance. Well, that would definitely make her job easier.

The cave inside was far more homely than she could have expected. An array of rainbow crystals stuck out from the ceiling, casting the room in a multicolored light. A messy circular bed, not unlike the ones in Chimecho’s office, sat against the left wall. Next to it, a tiny waterfall that emerged from a crack in the wall, and disappeared under the stone floor. A music box of sorts played a song on the other side. It sounded nice. 

Various items were scattered around the floor. A few orbs, some loose change, a wilted potted plant. There were also a few handwritten notes lying around. She flattened out the closest one to her and looked it over. Yep, still couldn’t read it. But the characters in this looked vastly different from anything she had seen before. Oh stars, were there two languages she had to learn?

Then she noticed the side hallway off of the main room. Okay, if this place wasn’t suspicious before, it certainly was now. She followed the hallway for about five feet before it took a sharp turn away to a staircase completely consumed by shadows. There was going to be a lot of stumbling in the darkness if she continued.

But wait, didn’t she have a move for this scenario? Yeah, she did! 

She focused, channeling her energy into a sphere a few inches away. Which was far easier to do when she wasn’t trying not to die. The flame was already a richer shade of indigo than before. She smiled to herself. Looks like those dojo lessons really have been paying off

Focus, dammit. 

Even with the new light, the stairwell was still littered with shadows. So her pace was slow. Cautious. This, of course, meant the sound of her blunt claws echoing off the walls was astonishingly loud. So loud, in fact, that she almost didn’t hear the stray voice at the top.

She froze. Whoever it was sounded like they could have made a decent alto in a choir. And they were currently talking to themself, she quickly realized. Villain monologue? Bored teen? Thinking out loud during an intense study session? Who knew. But they were probably so busy with… whatever they were doing that they didn’t even notice she was here, loud claws and all. 

But she still had to be quiet. She was so close to the top, and she couldn’t blow it now.

Her steps slowed to a crawl as she took special care to deafen her claws as much as possible. But now, anticipation had even more time to fester in her soul. 

Now that she thought about it, there was a good chance this thing was either the Lake Banshee, or an associate. What was her plan if and when they tried to kill her? Run back down the stairs? With her clumsy paws? What if she tripped and broke her back- for real this time? What if her soul really was in danger? What if-

No. Even as panic squeezed her lungs, she knew she had to be brave. Or at least attempt to be brave. There was no one for her to hide behind. This was her hero moment. All the apprentices- Rylan especially- were counting on her. And if her soul really did end up getting stolen, and she was stuck there until the end of time, then so be it.

Her paw staggered at the sudden lack of a stair. Oh god, she was in the heart of their hideout. And they still didn’t seem to know she was practically standing next to them. Weird. 

Muted daylight leaked in through a massive tinted window, but the stark contrast of the pitch black stairwell made it hard to get a proper look at them. She could, however, still discern that they were fairly small. And currently floating. But the window they were looking out of…

From how the window was positioned, it perfectly encapsulated the stone arena. And the battle within it. Fear filled her heart when she saw, in near perfect clarity, just how tired Rylan was becoming. The beast, on the other hand, looked completely unharmed. 

Her heart quickened. She had to do something! But… What could she do? She didn’t exactly have the most options twenty feet above the battlefield. Think of something already! Or else he could-

Something brushed against her paw. Instantly, two screams filled the room.

The figure, who had backed up a solid foot, looked just about as rattled as she felt. And after a few seconds of stunned silence, they buried their face in their hands and let out a soft groan. “Oh gods, you scared the crap out of me.”

“Di- sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Grace stammered.

“No, no, you’re fine,” they reassured. “Just… I’m just not the biggest fan of people sneaking up behind me.”

“Yeah, sorry I-“ she stopped. From the window, she could see that the beast was gone. No footprints. No massive beast-shaped holes in the wall. It has just disappeared. 

“Hang on, how did you get up here anyways?” Their question dragged her out of her thoughts.

“I…” Something wasn’t adding up. This monster- one on top of a structural anomaly of a lake- had been out for blood one second, then gone in the next. But, chances were that a local would know more about it than she would.

“Well, I was kinda looking for someone who could call off the beast. But it's gone now, so I guess-“

“Wait, it’s gone?” Panic spiked in their voice. “Crap, okay, one second.” They drew in a deep breath. The three gems on their tails and forehead began to glow a crimson light. Suddenly, the beast flickered back into existence within the arena. But it’s prey was nowhere to be seen. 

“Uh, where’s that friend of yours?” They asked tentatively.

She was too busy staring down at the arena to answer them. Rylan was gone too. But he had probably just passed through the same wall she did. Easy question. Now for a not-so-easy question; what on earth was the deal with this person- no, this entire lake?

“Please tell me if you see him because I physically cannot.”

“Oh, um, no. He’s not down there.”

They let out an exhausted sigh. The gem glow stopped, and the beast vanished again. “He’s probably made it to the lake shore by now.” They began to quickly float out of the room. “I really should have figured out what to do with people who made it past the Groudon illusion,” they murmured under their breath.

“Wait- hold on!”

They turned back. Now that the light hit their face fully, she could see how their cloudy grey eyes weren’t quite focused on her. 

“The monster was fake this whole time? Then why did I actually feel like I broke my legs back there? Were you the one who set up the statue puzzle outside? Is there a reason that you’ve apparently set up shop in a multi-story lake- in the middle of a forest? Why is there so much fog?”

Their expression shifted from stunned to understanding to guilt within the span of her questionnaire. Then, they sighed again, softer than the first time. “Well, you did make it this far,” they said, gaze dropping to the floor. “I guess I do owe you a bit of an explanation. But where do I start...

“Uh, I’m Uxie, and I’m the real guardian of Fogbound Lake.”


	20. Fogbound Secrets

“...what?”

Uxie blinked. “I said that I’m-“

“No, I heard what you said,” she cut them off. “It’s just… I’m still kind of processing it.”

“Oh, right.” They cleared their throat. “Uh, well, I was specifically instructed by Dialga to ‘guard the treasure of Fogbound Lake at any cost.’ And I don’t really want your friend to find out on his own, so I’ll explain more in a bit. Just grab my tail for a quick second.”

They lifted one of their tails in her general direction. She hesitated, and not just because she wasn’t sure how she was going to grab it. “What for?” She asked.

“It’s a lot easier to teleport groups when there’s physical contact involved. Now are you coming or not?” Desperation peaked in their voice. Then they paused, guilt fading in. “Err, I mean, if you want to go the long way, that’s fine too.”

“No, it’s okay,” she insisted, “I’m coming.”

She reached out, gently touching their tail with a paw. The surroundings instantly changed from the dimly lit cave to the foggy lakeshore. With one very surprised Rylan.

“Grace?” he asked, stubby tail fluffed out like a Pom-Pom. “Who the hell is that?” He looked ready to bring them down to the pavement, even though his shaking limbs revealed that he could barely stand.

She opened her mouth to explain, but Uxie beat her to it. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. Or take your memories. Or steal your soul. Or whatever kids these days think I do.”

He looked unconvinced. In fact, he looked more convinced that they were about to do some combination of the three. He didn’t even loosen up when Grace walked over to his side. 

They didn’t seem to notice. “Okay, now that you’re both here, I guess I start explaining.”

She nodded, but not below an indigo light floated into the corner of her vision. Oh gods, the Will-o-Wisp was still active. How did she put it out last time? Oh right! She closed her eyes and willed it away. When she opened them again, it was gone. Crisis averted. Now to stop tuning out the single person who was talking.

“Okay,” they began. “First off, congrats on being the first group to make it to Fogbound Lake!”

Rylan blinked. “Really?”

“Yes, really!”

“So what’s the prize? Death?”

They opened their mouth to continue, then stopped. “I already told you, I’m not going to kill you!”

He cocked a single eyebrow, still unconvinced.

“Rylan,” Grace said, figuratively pulling him to the side, “look, they’ve made it very clear that they mean no harm. And they seem nice too. How many times are we going to meet a guardian who’s this nice?”

“And what does that have to do with anything?”

“Just… let them finish their speech, so they can see us as trustworthy, help us release our friends, and we can end the Expedition on a good note.”

For a moment, he stared at the ground just beyond her. Then he sighed. “Fine. I’ll play along. But if they do kill us, you owe me 100p.” 

Not the best answer, but it would have to do. She turned back to Uxie. “Sorry about that. Go on?”

“Right. Wait, where was I again?”

“We’re the first ones to make it to the lake?”

“Oh yeah!” Their expression shifted from pride to some watered-down concern. “Then again, I’ve only been guarding it for…” they started to count on their figures, then stopped and shook their head. “It doesn’t matter. Point is, you’re the first ones. Though I don’t know why I need both the fog puzzle and the Groudon illusion if the biggest thing people got tripped up on was the fake wall.” They muttered the last part under their breath, as well as something about the Limestone Cavern.

“Let me get this straight,” Rylan spoke up. “First you set up this statue that gets rid of thefog once someone puts back the magical missing piece, then you set up a fake Groudon for people to fight. All just to protect some fancy lake?”

They stood stunned for a few seconds. “I mean, I guess that was a little overboard, even for me. But this is not just a fancy lake! It’s a lot more than that!”

A shiver ran down her spine. Yep, heard that speech word-for-word in a dream this morning. 

Something (besides exhaustion) glimmered in his eye, and he smiled in the corner of his mouth. “Oh really?” He continued. “Then what’s so special about it?”

“I mean, uh, you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to,” Grace chimed in frantically. 

They didn’t answer at first. Instead, they spent a few moments deep in thought, snapping their fingers a few times. 

Grace shot him a look, even as anticipation tore her up inside. What were they about to say? Sure, she did want to at least see the treasure they were guarding. But she didn’t want to pressure them into showing it off. Knowing her luck (and possibly Rylan’s attitude) they were probably about to steal their memories and kick them out-

“You know what? You’ve made it this far. I might as well show you.”

It took a few seconds to process this. “Wait, really?”

“Yes. But only because once you learn what it is, you wouldn’t want to steal it anymore.”

Her heart quickened. For some reason. Oh no, what if she got busted for something she didn’t do? But when she saw the miffed look on Rylan’s face, everything suddenly made a little more sense. Didn’t that Hypno say that he was a criminal at some point? Or at least suggest it? And didn’t Rylan himself drop that he came from a family of thieves?

They smiled and turned around, raising their hands to the lakeside. “You might want to sit down for this. I’ve heard the view is breathtaking.”

The three gems glowed again. Magically, the choking mist around the lake began to vanish. No, not vanish, it receded. And as it slowly formed into a dome above their heads, the full majesty of the lake was finally revealed. 

Grace padded to the edge, and jumped as a small wave lapped against her paw. She heard a snicker further onshore, but she was far too busy admiring the scenery to care. Through the constant ripples, she could see more of those rainbow lights below the water. They illuminated the entire lakebed, even the deepest parts. Especially the deepest parts. It was like someone had gone absolutely overboard setting up christmas lights down there. It was beautiful.

“Yep,” Rylan stated. “Bunch of Glowshroom Crystals in a lake, checks out as fancy. So does this place have a main attraction? Or were you expecting me to steal an entire lake?”

They drew in a slow, deep breath before nodding. “You see that fountain in the middle?”

Her gaze drifted further out. Yes, she saw that fountain. Though it was hard to miss, considering it was smack dab in the middle of the lake. And also glowing. 

“Uh, can I get some verbal agreement?” They requested. “Cause I can’t exactly see you nodding.”

“Yup.”

“Oh, um, yes. I see it.”

They nodded themself. “There’s a Time Gear in there. Kinda why it glows in the first place.”

Genuine surprise lit up Rylan’s face. “Really?” He chuckled. “Damn, you’re right. I’m not gonna steal a Time Gear.”

“Well that’s reassuring to hear. Especially with everything going on right now.”

Grace smiled, but just felt more confused than anything. This was clearly a Very Important Thing, and she still hadn’t the slightest clue what it was. But it wasn’t like she could just ask-

“Wait, you don’t know what a Time Gear is?”

Uxie’s words almost felt like a brick directly to the head. “Wha- how did you-”

They tensed up almost immediately. “Aw geez, sorry. I know I shouldn’t mind-read, but it’s a bad habit of mine, and…” They then proceeded to bury their face in their hands and groan. Loudly.

Rylan looked confused on a few different levels. Then something in his mind clicked. “Wait, Grace, didn’t you say you were anemic or something?”

Now Uxie looked confused. “Uh, what does a blood disorder have to do with this?”

“It’s not that,” Grace spoke up. “You see, I kind of woke up on a beach a few weeks ago, with no memory of how I got there. Or anything before that.”

Their eyes lit up in realization. “Oh, you mean amnesia! Okay, yeah, that makes a lot more sense. Do you know how it happened?”

“Uh…”

“Never mind, that was a bad question. Anyways-“ they flicked their tails as their tone shifted drastically- “I can give you a brief lesson about them. But it has to be quick, cause the other two don’t really like the idea of teams spending more than an hour in the designated dungeons. Much less in the actual lake.”

They shook their head. “I’m getting off track. Uh, how do I explain this…”

“Okay, so Time Gears are sort of responsible for keeping time in an area flowing smoothly. And by an area, I mean entire continents. Kinda impressive if you think about it.”

Grace nodded, slightly less confused than before. “So someone stealing them would be bad, right?”

“Oh absolutely! Time will just stop in a half-mile radius of the site almost immediately. And then that distortion spreads! That fact plus the assigned guardians should be enough to drive away thieves. But…”

Their gaze traveled to the sand beneath their feet. “Y’know, at first I thought the situation in Treeshroud was just some teenagers being idiots. But we couldn’t find the culprit. Then I thought maybe we just weren’t looking hard enough. But now that the one in Limestone is gone too… Whoever is doing this knows what they’re doing, and that’s the scariest part. I just hope we catch this guy before-”

Distant voices dragged her attention away. They were coming from… behind the fake wall?

Fear shot through their clouded eyes. “Oh gods there’s more people,” they said under their breath. “I uh… hold that thought, I’ve gotta set up the Groudon illusion again.” Their gem glowed again, but this time it was only the one on their forehead.

“Hold on.” Rylan stopped them. “How many people are we talking about?”

“12? 16?” Mild panic fronted at the edge of their voice as the gem glow flickered out. “It's hard to tell from here. All I know is that there’s more than ten and they’re all teens.”

“That’s probably the other apprentices!” Grace called out excitedly. They made it out okay. Oliver and Asher made it out okay. She began to bolt over, but didn’t get more than a few steps before Uxie teleported in front of them. 

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa,” they interjected as she skidded to a stop. “I really don’t think it’s the best idea for them to all come in here.”

“And why not?” Rylan said, trotting up to them.

“Well, it’s a lot of people- teenagers, even- and I’m not exactly the host type. I don’t even think there’s supposed to be this many people here. And plus it’s a lot harder to extract memories from a larger grou-“

“What?!” A wave of terror shot through her.

“I knew it!!” He snarled, sparks flaring up almost immediately. But he winced in pain almost immediately, and the sparks vanished. “I fucking knew you were gonna pull something!”

“Wait hold on, hold on,” they stammered. “It’ll be just of this afternoon! You know, so more people don’t find the lake!”

Oh, okay. That made sense. She nodded. But for some reason, she still found herself fighting the urge to run away.

Rylan, on the other hand, just started growling louder. “And how do I know that’s all you’re gonna do, huh? How do I know you’re not lying between your teeth?!”

Her heart was pounding. But she still had to do something. She started, “Rylan-“

“What!?” He snapped.

She curled up into herself. Instinctively. Her entire body began to tremble as she fought back tears.

But why? 

Why did she fully expect for him to unsheathe his claws and give her a real reason to cry? 

And why was she genuinely surprised when the rage gave way to horrified shock?

“Grace?” His voice was barely a whisper. Far softer than the yelling (??) she had come to expect (?!?!?). 

“I’m fine.” She staggered to her paws, her still pounding like a goddamn drum solo. “Completely and utterly fine.” She tried to ignore the tears as she nearly choked on her own voice. Oh dear gods please don’t start sobbing now. Then she’ll only have a reason to start hitting harder- wait, who the hell is this ‘she’? And why did the sheer thought of this mystery person threaten to send her into her third crying fit of the day?

“Oh geez, are you okay?” Uxie asked. “Because that is not something a mental stable kid just does.”

“I… I don’t remember…”

Before she could answer further, a distant ‘fuck!’ distracted them all. It came from none other than Bones. Who had fallen through the fake wall, and was now lying face up in the sand. 

“Uh, okay, hold that thought,” Uxie said, before teleporting away with the blink of an eye.

Bones didn’t really do much at first, just groaned and looked over their shoulder. Then they saw the trio. “Rylan?” They asked with light confusion.

“What?” Whatever flurry of emotion he experienced moments ago had been pushed far below the surface. God, she wished she could do that.

They rose to their feet, brushing sand out of their fur. “Holy shit, dude, I thought you were dead.”

“Yeah.” His reply was snappy and short. Was he just tired? Or maybe he heard what others said about him? No, it was probably the former. 

Bones opened their mouth to say something else, but distorted screams from behind the wall interrupted them. They then stuck their head through the face wall, which only led to more screaming apprentices.

During all this, Uxie reappeared just as quickly as they had left. “What are they…” They trailed off, the gems on their tails glowing. Then their face lit up in panic. “Oh sHIT KID PLEASE DON’T-“ Then they vanished again. But it’s time, she could see them reappear among the apprentices. 

Grace let out a soft sigh. Exhaustion had been gnawing at her all day. Between the fits, the Spearow swarm, the mental toll of the ‘Groudon’ fight, and just the sheer fact of starting a high-energy day as early as she had to. It felt like this day had been dragging on for months. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and pass away peacefully in the night. But even with all of this, when Rylan began to walk over to the fake wall, she staggered close behind. 

Through it, she could see the apprentices. All of them a fair distance from Uxie. The expressions within the group ranged from confusion to suspicion to full on fear. At least they didn’t seem to have any more injuries. She stepped through the wall, expecting to simply slip into the crowd as if she had never left. But that wasn’t what ended up happening. 

Asher spotted her almost immediately. “Grace!” He said, eyes lighting up. He began to bolt up to her, despite the looks of his peers. “You’re okay! I thought you-“

A vine smacked the ground between them, forcing him to stop. Beth’s eyes were darting between him and Uxie. “Don’t get any closer. That could just be a trick. They’re just trying to lure you away and steal your soul.”

“Beth what the fuck,” Dakota deadpanned. “You’re still going on about this Lake Banshee thing?”

“They’re literally standing right in front of us!”

Dakota looked over at Uxie, then back at her. “Do they look like a Lake Banshee to you?”

“Also,” Uxie spoke up, “stealing souls isn’t really my thing.”

Desmond stepped forward. “So, what is your thing?”

“Oh, as the god of mind, I do a lot of stuff with memories. Mostly just reviewing or restoring them. But recently I’ve been tasked with guarding Fogbound Lake.” They puffed their chest up with pride. 

“And where is said lake?” Beatrice asked.

Their pride faded quickly, but before they could say anything, Bones spoke up, “Oh it’s just past this fake wall. The view’s pretty sweet too.” They turned to the wall. “We should check it out-“

“Maybe you shouldn’t,” said Uxie, teleporting directly in front of the wall. “Because, uh… there’s a beast! A really big and dangerous one that I highly doubt you guys should try to fight or you will die. Painfully.”

 _Please don’t say anything._ The thought popped into Grace’s head, but it wasn’t hers. She just shrugged. Well, she wasn’t planning on saying anything in the first place. Mostly just sit on the sidelines and watch how this played out. Maybe make it look like she wasn’t crying merely seconds ago.

“So, one beast,” Candi said, “against the 15 of us? I think we’ll be fine. Let’s go!” She lifted off of Beth’s head and, despite her friends’ protests, flew straight into the wall. But instead of crashing into it, she simply flew through it. It even rippled a little on impact. 

Everyone sat in a tense silence. For about three seconds. Then Candi popped her head back through and reported, “Holy shit, Bones wasn’t kidding about the view. And before y'all ask, no I didn’t see any monster.”

Another tense moment. Then Atlas spoke up. “You heard her, let’s go!” 

They all charged through, a few at first, then the rest followed all at once. Grace was among the mid-back, but stopped after she heard a soft groan from Uxie. The earlier panic had now faded to complete and utter defeat. 

“Are, uh… are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah,” they answered, face buried in their hand once again. “It’s just… I was really asking for something like this to happen when I let you two in. Like, I can’t just spot-wipe 15 people in a single afternoon. But if Dialga finds out about this… especially now…” they trailed off with a shiver. 

She racked her brain for a solution, but could only really think of one. “How about you just don’t tell anyone?”

Their eyes lit up for half a second, then they frowned. “No, that won’t work. He’s like, the God of Time, and therefore sorta omnipresent.” Then something clicked. “Hang on, I’ve got a better idea.” They swiftly floated through the wall. Grace followed them, but passed through with a little more hesitance. The wall just looked so damn realistic. 

Back at the lakeshore, the others were all marveling at the view. A few were even ankle deep in the water already.

 _Okay, uh, everyone gather around for a second._ That mind voice spoke up again, but this time, everyone seemed to hear it. Everyone halted their activities to listen in. Some sooner than others.

“Okay,” they began in their normal voice, “you guys are by far the largest group I’ve had to deal with, so I’ll make a deal with you. You all can chill here for like an hour before the search party looking for you guys shows up. And I’ll let you keep all your memories of this afternoon, just as long as you don’t tell anyone about this place. Okay?”

“Not even the Guildmaster?” Asher asked.

“Ye- um… that depends, which guild are you with?”

“Guild of Treasures, back at Treasure Town. It’s like 2 weeks southwest of here.”

They thought for a moment, then said, “Oh! Yeah, you can tell him. But no one else, okay?”

A staggered but mutual agreement rose from the crowd. They let out a relieved sigh. “Oh thank gods. Well, in that case, have fun for now. And before anyone asks, yes the lake is open for swimming. Just try not to get too close to the Time Gear.”

Some apprentices had already dove depression into the lake before they could finish their sentence. Others circled up to chat, probably about this crazy day. Still others walked the edge of the lakeshore. Rylan was among them, though clearly not part of any one conversation.

Grace let out an exhausted sigh. “Well, this certainly was one hell of a first expedition,” she said to no one in particular. Then she ran after the lakeshore group, eager to enjoy this time at Fogbound Lake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap I’m finally done with this freaking arc. It only took eight months lmao, but now we can get to the good stuff


	21. Medicine & Memories

The 21st day of Long Sun

The second time the Warp Tower spit her out, she was a little more prepared to not land on her face. And she didn’t, even though her paws stung with the force of the landing. At least she landed on her feet this time.

Okay, that was better. Still not nearly as graceful as Rylan’s landing, but it was still better than her first Warp Tower trip. 

The first floor was practically deserted. Aside from the other teams, who had already warped back, Chatot was the only other one in the lobby to greet them. “Welcome back.” His words seemed scripted but well-meaning. “Watch your step, please.”

She scampered out of the marked circle, watching the blinking red light shift back to green. Chatot didn’t seem to notice, preoccupied with counting the apprentices. Then he let out a sigh. “Oh thank Lugia everyone’s here.” He stepped forward to address everyone. “Okay, listen up. You all are free for the rest of the day, but only after you get a follow- up with one of the guild nurses. Some of those wounds look like they could use a second check-up.”

Oh yeah, didn’t Sadie say that Chimecho could fix her scarf? Yeah. Maybe. She didn’t know. It was kind of hard to pay attention when she was looking at her beautiful face. But regardless, she could just go in for the shoulder wound and ask around from there. The sooner she did that, the sooner she could go to bed.

She waited to make sure Chatot had nothing else to say before turning to Rylan. “Hey, I’m gonna head to Chimecho’s office.”

He shrugged. “Alright. I’m going to the main floor Nurse’s Office. If you need me after that, I’ll be in the Training Room.”

“Wha- we just got back from a trip.”

He didn’t answer. He just forcefully threw off his white bandana and padded down to the facilities hallway. 

She lingered on the main floor for a little longer than should have. It was painfully obvious that she wasn’t part of any of the friend groups within the ranks of apprentices. Even as the teams intermingled, she still stuck out. They had all known each other for so long. It would be rude to butt in. So, even as much as she wanted to stay and listen to Oliver’s laugh, she left.

A tightness pulled at her heart. She wanted to stay with them, wanted to laugh at their joke, wanted to join in on their playful shenanigans. Wanted to be included. But she couldn’t. They weren’t her friends. They were just friendly strangers. Besides, all she wanted to do was sleep. The sheer thought of collapsing into her bed helped to ebb the pain a little as she disappeared down the spiral staircase.

The sunlight was rather muted, despite it being mid-morning. When she looked out the window, she could see a dense cloudy cover blotting out the sky. Maybe it would rain later tonight. Who knew.

It was all just so… weird. She was never here when the lobby was completely empty. And the lighting was foreign, too. Not particularly wrong. Just different.

She wordlessly continued to Chimcho’s room, but stopped at the door. Two sets of voices could be heard behind it. Crap. someone beat her to it. And there was no way she was about to barge in and just sit in the office. Eavesdropping on them in plain sight. Maybe she should just skip- 

No, she couldn’t do that. Her scarf, the one thing left from her lost past, still needed to be fixed. She couldn’t just ignore the rip and let it get worse. So she let out a sigh and sat right outside the office door. Waiting.

Only a handful of seconds past before she felt a sharp twinge of hunger. Understandable. She hadn’t really had anything since that morning, and even then it was just three bits of an aspear berry. Maybe she should have something else.

A thought resurfaced. She dug through her bag and pulled out the Krookodile Krunch bar. Part of the wrapper was neatly folded over the exposed bar, protecting it. The recollection of its taste made her smile a little.

But she couldn’t. Every time she ate it was loud and messy, because she couldn’t chew with her mouth closed like a goddamn normal person. What if someone walked by her scarfing the bar down? What if Chatot saw it? That would almost certainly lower his entire image of her, maybe even to the point of expelling her! The sheer thought of that made her nauseous enough to put the bar back.

The door opened. Desmond walked out while looking back into the room. “I’ll see you next week!” They looked over at Grace, and gave her a warm smile before walking to the lobby. Grace paused, then slipped into the office before the door closed.

Chimecho was waiting at their desk. “Hey!” They said. “Are you here for your follow-up?”

“Uh, yeah.” She walked over near the beds.

“Alright, just take off your scarf so I can get a better look at your shoulder injury.”

She nodded, gingerly pulling it off with a back paw. As soon as it was off, she was painfully aware that the section of fur underneath it was noticeably flatter than the rest. She quickly tried to fluff it up with the same paw. The large bandage on her shoulder pulled at her skin as she did so. 

A short yelp escaped her as the old bandage was suddenly ripped off. “Sorry,” they said.

“No, it’s okay,” Grace reassured. Honestly, she was the one who should be apologizing for overreacting. It was just a bandage, for gods’ sake! It didn’t even hurt that much. But at least it was off.

“Oh…” they drew in a breath through their teeth.

A jolt of panic shot through her. “What? Is it bad?”

“Not really, no,” they answered calmly. “I mean, this is probably the worst wound I’ve seen in a while. How exactly did you get this?”

“Uh, I think a Fearow dug its talons in?”

Some concern leaked through their expression. “Just one?”

“Yeah…” Was that bad? It was probably bad.

They thought for a moment. “You know how Pokemon are mostly beings of magic, right?”

“Yes,” she lied.

“Well, the same magic that lets you use moves also can heal and defend against other magic attacks. As long as your magic reservoirs aren’t exhausted, of course.”

They looked right at her, conflicted emotions dancing in their eyes. “I personally would have thought that a wound like that would be less severe, maybe even completely healed by now…” Then, as quickly as it had arrived, the concern faded and they shrugged. “At least it isn’t infected.” 

They turned to the shelf carved into the wall. Some new bandages and a tin of medicine floated over toward them. “I’ll just re-dress it real quick, and you’ll be good to go. Just make sure to take it easy for now. Also-“ They motioned to a floating bottle, this one filled with beige capsules- “take one of these a day to further prevent infection.” The bottle dropped into her bag with a soft clinking sound. “Was there anything else you wanted checked?”

“Oh, uh, yes.” She pushed her scarf forward. “I kind of ripped this on the expedition, and Sadie said you could fix this.”

“Of course,” they responded, red light flickering in their eyes as the scarf lifted off the ground. They turned it over a few times before they spotted the rip. “Oh, that’s not terrible.” A drawer in their desk opened by itself, and a needle and thread floated onto the desktop. “I’ll have this done in no time. But we still need to dress the wound first.”

“Right, sorry,” she apologized. She looked up at them, not sure what to expect. But they were frowning now, and their gaze was distant. Almost like they had something else on their mind. Then they turned to her.

“There’s actually something I’d like to talk to you about while I do this. If you’re open for conversation, of course.”

Oh no. What did she do now? Did she finally mess up bad enough to get expelled? Or worse, upset Chatot? Her first instinct was to sprint out of the room and never have to hear the laundry list of ways she’d messed up.

But she could just say no. That would be rude. What were they going to do, just stand in awkward silence for 5 minutes as she got her wound dressed? Honestly, that would be much more of an insult than just leaving. They would absolutely hate her after she pulled something like that. Ultimately, she had no choice but to comply. 

“Yeah, of course.”

They nodded, ripping the back of a large cotton bandage off. “Alright. I’m going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to answer them truthfully. Okay?” 

“Uh huh.” She could already feel a wave of panic start to set in.

“So, for starters, do you have any recorded problems with your aura?”

“Nope,” she lied again. But she wasn’t lying completely this time. She just had no idea if she did have a problem with her aura. She probably did. Why else would she just get attacks over the most random things? However, if she did say yes, they were probably going to ask for specifics, and she’d have to dig herself into an even deeper hole than before.

They nodded, smearing ointment on the bandage. “Are you on any medications?”

“No,” she answered quickly. Too quickly. Wait, crap, yes she was. “I mean, aside from the stuff you just gave me, no.” Holy shit, why could she just talk normally?

They let out a light chuckle. Then, without warning, the bandage was pressed against her wound. She flinched a little at the cold ointment. Fuck, okay. That was done. Now how much longer was this going to take? Her heart was pounding in her chest, even though she was just standing there. Oh god, was she having another attack? 

“Have you had any more attacks since that one time on the 9th of Long Sun?”

“I… uh…” Yes. A lot more. At least one every other day. Usually in the privacy of her room. Where she couldn’t go right now. She was trapped, and seconds away from a full on meltdown. And there was nothing she could do. “I don’t… know…” Tears started to well up in her eyes for no reason. Make it stop make it stop make it stop please please please please please-

A faint bell started ringing in the back of her mind. Almost immediately, the adrenaline welling up in her chest started to fade. Her breaths grew slower and slower as she sat down. Soon the seed of panic was gone entirely. But not before a tear rolled down her cheek. 

Dammit. That sure was a genius move, having a breakdown right in front of the nurse. Now they would know just how weak she really was. She looked up at them, expecting to see nothing but disappointment. 

Nope. Just concern. And… sympathy? They let out a slow sigh. “Can you repeat that?”

She tensed up, but less panic washed ashore than normal. “I…” Then, her posture loosened as she let out a defeated sigh. What was the point of lying? She wasn’t any good at it in the first place. Besides, they were only trying to help her, regardless of what her shit brain said. “Yes,” she answered, truthfully.

They ‘pulled’ some medical tape out from the desk, still looking at her. “Would you say that these attacks, and just general worrying, disrupts your life?”

“Yes.”

They nodded, as if they had already known the answer, but just needed confirmation. “I think I know what this is.”

They began wrapping the bandage with medical tape just out of her field of vision. “From what you’ve told me, and what I’ve seen, it seems like you have a form of general anxiety.”

She paused. “Is that bad?”

They chuckled. “No, of course not. Anxiety is actually a normal feeling that everyone feels. To an extent. But some people are impacted by disproportionate levels of anxiety, sometimes to the point of experiencing physical symptoms.”

“Wait,” she asked, “does this have anything to do with my… ‘attacks?’”

“Yep~” They ripped off the end of the tape cleanly, firmly placing the end down. “Just a quick question, do you remember what triggered some of these attacks? Or if there were even triggers at all?”

“Uh, waking up late and almost having to eat in front of people, meeting a client’s family, running into this team I’m pretty sure hate me- Skull, you’ve heard of them, right? And the warp tower, that sure freaked me out. Talking in front of a group, Chatot asking me about something, talking in front of a group again, and…” 

She paused. That scene at the lake came to mind. When she broke down because of something Rylan said. No, not even that. The energy of that moment had struck some locked memory. And it wasn’t a good one. But she doubted that was relevant. “Something else, I don’t remember.”

They picked up her scarf, along with a needle and thread. “And what would you say is the rough timeline of these attacks?”

“This past week.”

They nodded, occasionally glancing at the needle as it threaded itself. A second glass bottle, slightly smaller than the first, flew down from the glass and landed in her bag next to the first one. “I think the best thing to do would be to take 25mg of Sertraline once a day. Next time you come in for your shoulder, we can touch base on that and-” they stopped, peering at the scarf. “Huh. That’s weird.”

“What’s weird?”

“This scarf’s got a hidden pocket.” They turned it around, so the inside was facing her. Sure enough, a small pocket had been stealthily sewn in. And by the way the fabric of it was displaced…

“I think there’s something inside it.”

They turned the scarf back around. Their eyes then lit up as they pulled out a folded piece of paper. It looked a little worn, with signs of water damage. But it was still intact.

Her heart skipped a beat. This had to be a link from her past! Was it a letter from a lover? A parent’s note of good luck? Maybe even an address? “What does it say?” she asked, unable to contain her excitement.

They unfolded it carefully, studying the contents for a few seconds. Finally, they simply said, “It’s a drawing.”

Before she got the chance to ask about it, the paper floated down to her paws. It was a worn pencil drawing of a Skitty. More specifically, a headshot of a Skitty with incredible detail. Even to the point where the eyes had the subtle crinkle of a true smile. It was amazing, quite possibly the best she’d ever seen. Well, that wasn’t exactly the highest bar, but still.

But something else about the page caught her attention. In the bottom right corner, there was a short word, written in a looser font than she’d seen around the guild.

“Xavier,” Chimecho read. “I’m pretty sure that’s a signature. Were there any Xavier’s in your old town?”

“Not that I know of.” Again, not technically a lie, but she didn’t know if it was entirely truthful either. 

“Well, that sure is a cool little discovery~” they said with a smile. Then they sighed to neutralize the mood. The paper folded itself back up, and disappeared into the pocket of her newly repaired scarf. Then the scarf loosely wrapped itself around her neck. “Alright. Just remember to take your meds, and I’ll see you next week!”

“You too.” She walked over to the door, which swung open by itself before she could push it. She gave one last look back at them before she began her trek back to her room.

The hallway was rather quiet. Which was pretty reasonable, honestly. All the apprentices who weren’t on missions were either getting check ups or hanging out in the break room. 

Or training, in Rylan’s case. That was pretty standard of him. It seemed that every free moment he had was spent training. Sometime, she’d wake up in the still hours of the morning, only to find he was gone. It just sounded exhausting.

Her jaws parted in a heavy yawn. She was more than ready to curl up into her bed and sleep the rest of the day. Yes, that field trip was fun, but it definitely took a lot out of her. She recalled the sleepover at the Caste’s camp. Everyone whispering to each other, looking up at the stars. Well, the stars that could be seen through the thick blanket of fog. There might have even been a game of Mafia at some point. She couldn’t remember. She didn’t exactly fit in, so she didn’t join. 

But maybe she should have. Maybe then she would be seen as an actual friend, and not just a fellow apprentice. She shook her head. No, she was an outcast, and she always would be an outcast. Those kids must have known each other for so long. Longer than she’s been in Treasure Town, certainly. 

Part of her couldn’t help but wonder… was she part of a group like that in her old life? A tight knit group of friends who were there for each other? A group that made even the longest and loneliest nights fun? No, there was no way. Who would want to be friends with her in the first place?

Her room was right in front of her. She let out a soft sigh. Finally, some rest. She slipped a paw into the lower door handle (which had taken her an embarrassingly long time to realize was there), and slowly pulled the door open. It let out a faint creak in protest, but drifted open without much of a fight.

The first thing she noticed were the beds. They actually looked like beds, instead of the straw piles she had grown used to. Still circular, but now it seemed solid, with colored bed sheets covering them. The one by the window was a royal blue, while the one closest to her was a light orange. She pressed down on the orange bed. Sure enough, she heard the soft creaking of mattress springs.

Holy crap, when did this happen? Wait, didn’t Chatot say something about this? Yeah, he did. It was announced at dinner a few nights ago. Something about extra expenses, she didn’t catch all of it. Never mind that. This brand new bed was sitting right in front of her, just waiting to be slept on. She didn’t even want to bare the window. Midday sun wouldn’t be an obstacle for her. She took one step and-

_Grace!_

She nearly jumped across the room. Had she screamed? Yeah, probably. By the way Uxie was looking at her, it was safe to say- wait, Uxie? What were they doing here?

 _I’m sorry,_ they apologized profusely. _I didn’t really know how to approach you best, and-_

“No, no, you’re fine-”

 _No please don’t talk. I mean, not out loud. Just kind of project your thoughts to me._ Worry skewed their face as they softly pushed the door closed. _I’m really not supposed to be here, and the last thing I need is Dialga to learn that I left my post. He really has not been in the best of moods lately._

“I…” Oh god what was going on? Uxie didn’t exactly seem to be the type to break rank for fun. What was so important that they would do something like this? 

Never mind. They clearly didn’t have a lot of time to chit chat, and the sooner they said what they wanted to, the lower the chance that they would get caught. _Okay,_ she thought. _What did you want to, uh, ‘talk’ about?_

They let out a silent but relieved sigh. _Okay, so you know how you said you had amnesia?_

_Yeah?_

_Well, I think I might be able to help fix that._

Excitement rushed through her. _Wait really?!_

_Yes. Well, probably. Depends on how bad it is._ They straightened up, the three gems starting to glow again. _May I take a look?_

_Uh, sure,_ she thought, even though she had no idea what that meant. 

_Alright, thanks._ They popped a few of their fingers. _This might feel weird, but it won’t hurt. Just hold still._

 _Okay…_ she sat down, neatly curling her trio of tails around her paws. She drew in a breath, bracing for... whatever they were about to do.

There was a slight hum of magic, and the weirdest sensation washed over her. It was like someone was burning a hole into her chest. But like, without the burning part. Just some odd sensation of both tingling and numbness, and then suddenly there was a pink orb the size of a ping-pong ball floating in front of her. 

_Uh is that my soul?_

_Oh, no. Well, not the whole thing, just the memories. I can’t exactly mess with the entire soul._ The orb floated over to them and rested in their hands. They tossed in their hands a few times. Then they frowned. _Wait, how old are you?_

A little bit of fear built up in her chest. _Uh, 16 (at least I think so), why?_

Their brow only furrowed further. _Yeah, something’s definitely off, because you’ve only got about 5 month’s worth of memories. Give or take a week._

_Wha- 5 months? I can only remember back three weeks!_

Now they were both confused. Well, Grace was confused. Uxie just looked like they had 17 things running through their head at once. _I mean, you have amnesia, so it would make sense that you can’t remember all of your memories. But there should be more. Like a lot more._

_I know. And like, I know I couldn’t have been a complete blank slate. Because when I woke up on the beach I still remembered my name and the fact that I was human, whatever that is, and-_

_Wait, you're human?_

_Uh, yes?_ Weird part to focus on, but okay.

Their posture visibly loosened as they let out a deep sigh. _Okay, that makes so much more sense._

Now she just felt even more confused than ever. _What makes sense?_

 _Alright, so, a couple years ago, some of the higher ranking gods got together and picked a couple humans to help save the Pokémon world. And it worked! Like, even the part where they wanted me to lock away the memories of the chosen humans. I mean I personally didn’t think all that was necessary, but hey, whatever works._

_So that means-_

_Yes, your memories are fine. Most of them. Wait hang on._

They clapped, though it was barely audible. A second orb left from her chest. But this one was a dull gray. And far larger.

 _Just what I thought._ Their tails flicked sharply a few times as their expression shifted again. _Still doesn’t explain that 5 month gap you mentioned._

She sighed. Of course she was being difficult. Even when she didn’t mean to, she just-

 _No no no, you’re fine. It’s not your fault. Probably. I don’t know._ They paused. _Hang on, let me check something._

Closing their eyes, they drew in a slow breath. Then their gems somehow glowed brighter than before, and the orbs popped. Or at least, the outer layers did.

The larger one had a large knot of pink ribbon-like light resting within. Uxie stretched out their arms, and the ‘ribbons’ unfurled, almost taking up the entire ceiling. The fuschia glow was rather faint, and was only visible thanks to the muted sun. It almost reminded her of Fogbound Lake, and the neighboring cave, except with just one color.

The smaller orb wasn’t quite as grand. For one, it was far shorter. But something was terribly wrong with it. The majority of the strand was a sickly black, and seemed to crumble in on itself.

 _Oh god,_ she thought. There was no way that was good.

_Oh god what?_

_I…_ Were those, her memories? Well, yes, over course they were. But what happened to them? Didn’t Uxie say that all her memories of her past life (and, apparently, as a human) were safe? Yes, that’s what the giant strand was. But… did mean-

 _Give me a description, please. I don’t exactly have the time for a guessing game._ Desperation peaked in their ‘voice.’

Right, crap, they had a deadline. _Uh, most of the shorter strand is black an-_

 _Black?! No, the tapes are supposed to match your aura color!_ They reached out blindly, and the shorter tape floated right into their hands. They immediately gasped. _Oh sweet merciful Gaia…_

_Is it bad?_

_Uh, yeah. What did you even do?_

_I-_

_Wait, yeah, you don’t remember. Sorry. I just…_ This sigh was a lot more forced. _I really have a lot going on, and not a lot of time to deal with it._

With a flick of a finger, the longer tape curled itself into a tight circle, before disappearing back into the gray orb. The smaller tape tried to follow suit, but they grabbed it before it could. There was a soft ripping sound, and the tarnished piece had been separated from the rest. It dropped limply in their hands. The healthy piece curled up and returned to its fuschia shell, albeit even smaller than before. Then the orbs threw themselves back at her chest and vanished completely.

Uxie looked at the broken tape with a dismayed expression, before locking it into a translucent yellow bubble. _Well, at least this will give me something to do._ They began to fiddle with their fingers as anxiety crept back onto their face. _I’ve already spent way too much time here. Okay, uh, I’ll try to fix this and get it back to you ASAP. Got it? Okay, see you around._

 _Wait, hang on._ So many questions were running through her head, but she couldn’t seem to put them to words. Except for one. _Am I going to get the rest of my memories unlocked?_

They had already turned to leave. _Uh, I can’t do that until you help save the world._

__

__

_Save the world!?! Wait, what do you mean?!_

But they were already gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me if I’m writing anxiety in a main character correctly because my own anxiety is dummy thicc and the clap of it’s asscheeks keep alerting my raging fear of being incorrect


	22. Friendly Favors

The 28th of Long Sun

The first thing she noticed about the Spinda Cafe was the almost overwhelming smell of espresso and fruit juices. The second was the stark contrast of noise. The inner workings of Treasure Town always had so much going on, so many noises, so many people. To the point where she had to mentally prepare herself for most of a day just to walk to the square. But Spinda Cafe was so much calmer in comparison.

The cafe itself had a much bigger interior than the exterior would suggest. To her right was a long counter, with a few barstools next to it. A few employees were busy at work behind it, occasionally disappearing into the kitchen and reappearing with silver plates full of drinks and snacks. The entire rest of the cafe had wooden tables of various sizes and shapes scattered around. She could even see stairs leading up to a second level. But even though it was a packed house, the homely brown of the walls and floors helped ease her fear. Not by much, but it did help. Or maybe it was the meds. Probably some combination of the two.

“Oh wow,” Asher remarked, taking in the full grandeur of the homely cafe. “I am definitely coming here more often.” 

Rylan shrugged. “Eh, I probably won’t.” 

Grace scanned around the busty cafe. Discreetly, of course. From the patrons she could see, the crowd almost seemed evenly split between civilians and team members. But she didn’t really recognize any of them- wait, scratch that. That Golisopod and Staraptor duo from a few weeks ago was here. As in the pair that saw her use those A-rank request flyers as a spelling lesson. 

They both suddenly erupted in laughter. Were they laughing at her? No, that was ridiculous. She had only talked to him once, and he really didn’t seem like the type to talk shit. She still averted her eyes regardless.

A blue mass surfaced in the corner of her eye. She turned her head and was surprised to find a familiar face. 

“Hi, Abella.” 

She turned her head. Then she smiled. “Grace, hey.” She certainly looked happy to see her again, but something about her tone and the look in her eyes seemed… ever so slightly off. Eh, it probably wasn’t anything she wanted to share with a simple acquaintance. “How’ve you been?”

“Oh, you know, doing requests, sleeping, finding lost mons.” _Dealing with the pressure of apparently being handpicked to save the world._ Yeah, she didn’t need to know that last part. 

“Wait, you two know each other?” Asher asked.

“Yeah,” Abella said. “These two helped rescue my brother a while ago.” She turned to Grace and Rylan. “By the way, thank you so much for that. I know I’ve already thanked you but still.”

Asher’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah, I remember now.” He paused, then glanced over to Rylan. “Hey, wasn’t that during your first week?”

“Yup,” Rylan said, not looking up from grooming his paw. 

“Hello.” A Breloom behind the counter caught the group’s attention. “Welcome to the Spinda Cafe. Are you dining in or taking out?”

“Dining in,” Asher spoke up.

“Alright.” She scanned some board behind the counter for a second, then crossed something out with a marker. “We’ve got a table for four in the back. Right this way please~”

She walked out from behind the counter and turned toward the back of the cafe. The group followed close behind. Including Abella.

A tinge of regret began to creep into Grace’s subconscious. Abella didn’t ask to be part of this group. She probably didn’t want to be part of the squad. “Sorry,” she said, almost out of habit.

“For what?”

“Uh, I guess for kind of accidentally forcing you to come along with us.”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” Abella reassured without hesitation. 

She blinked. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I haven’t really gotten too many chances to hang out with you, so I don’t mind tagging along for now.”

An immediate weight lifted off her chest. Thank the gods this wasn’t a repeat of the time she basically forced Rylan into the guild. At least he had told her that he changed his initial view. Or maybe he just told her that to make her feel better. She should probably just ask him in private later.

Breloom ended up leading them to the stairs, where she walked up to them without stopping. Aw snap, they got to sit on the balcony? Awesome!

Their escort continued until she reached a medium-sized circular table right next to the balcony. It wasn’t too impressive, but the rich brown wood was rather pretty. As the gang took their seats, she placed a few paper menus on the table. “Alright, someone will be back in a few minutes to take your orders. Just sit tight and have a nice visit.” She then walked back down the stairs, a little quicker this time.

“Thank you!” Asher called after her.

The gang quietly picked out their seats. Rylan sat down first, claiming the seat with a view of the ground floor. Asher opted for the seat facing the stairs. Abella filed in next, with the seat opposite of Rylan. Finally, Grace sat in the sole remaining spot: the one turned away from the stairs. 

Abella broke the silence almost immediately. “Is it just me, or does this table seem a little… big?”

“Yeah, it does,” Grace remarked. It wasn’t terribly tall, but just tall enough that she had to crane her neck to see over it. The real trouble was the circumference, putting everyone at just the right distance for it to be awkward.

“Hang on.” Asher ducked under the table. “Judging by the branding, it could be...” he muttered, mostly to himself. Then something below clicked, and the table shot down quickly. It probably could have collapsed to the floor if it hadn’t landed heavily on his back on the way down. He let out a short grunt of surprise but held strong. “Tell me when it’s high enough.”

As soon as he said that, the table began to rise slowly. Shakily, but it still rose. When it reached a good height, Grace said, “That’s good!”

Another click and the table remained at that height, even when Asher scurried out from under it. “There,” he stated with a satisfied sigh. “Much better.”

Rylan seemed genuinely a little surprised. “Wow, I didn’t know tables could do that.”

“Well, the fancier ones can anyway,” Asher said matter-of-factually. “Some genius restaurant owner was tired of swapping out different sized tables for different sized guests, so they made this! A real breakthrough in carpentry if you ask me. Now if only someone could figure out how to change the circumference…” he shrugged. “Eh, it’s not really that big of a deal anyway.”

“Hello~” A Comfey with a little employee’s hat and a notepad had snuck up on them at some point. “What can I get you started with today?”

Abella blinked. “Oh geez, i haven’t even looked at the menu yet.” She unfolded it swiftly, skimming the contents. 

“Oh, that’s alright,” the server answered, mostly unbothered. 

“If it helps, I already know what I’m having,” Asher spoke up.

Comfey nodded, pulling out a pen from the side of his notepad. “And what would that be?”

“One black coffee, please. No cream, but a little sugar would be nice.”

A hint of confusion crept into his eyes, but he didn’t say anything, just writing down the order with a few quick pen strokes.

“I’ll have what he’s having,” Rylan said. “No sugar, though.”

Comfey scribbled this down too. Then he turned to Abella. “Have you figured out what you want yet?”

She set her menu down on the table. “Yeah, I’ll just get a small frozen hot chocolate today.”

“Whipped cream?”

“No thank you.”

He wrote down Abella’s order before making eye contact with Grace. “And what about you?”

She glanced down at her menu, and oh shit she still couldn’t read. Okay, uh, now what? He was waiting on her, and he probably had a million things he had to do. The last thing he wanted to do was wait on a panicked illiterate customer. But then an idea came to her. “Is there, like, a daily special?”

“Yeah, we’ve got a Lum Berry Smoothie for today.”

“I’ll have that please.”

“Alright.” They wrote down the last order before placing a paper stand with some number on the table. “I’ll be back in a little bit with your drinks.” And just as silently as he had arrived, he was gone.”

Grace watched him leave, before turning to Asher. “Not to be rude or anything, but you don’t exactly strike me as the type of guy who drinks black coffee.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I get that a lot, actually. It’s an acquired taste, really.” He smiled to himself, staring down at the table. “But I guess it helps that it also reminds me of my dad.”

“Isn’t that, like, a bad thing?” Rylan spoke up.

“No, no really.” There was some concern in his voice, but it didn’t last long. “Anyway, when I was growing up, money was always tight. We usually managed to get the essentials, but we never could afford anything else. And that was with both me and my dad working odd jobs to make ends meet. My mom wanted to help, but raising 5 other kids is pretty time-consuming. 

“But somehow, every Monday, my dad always managed to scrape enough money to buy us some black coffee. It wasn’t really the best-tasting thing in the world, but it brought us together, and also gave me something to look forward to.” 

A few tears rolled down his face as his voice began to tighten. “I miss him. I miss all of them. But me moving away and getting this good of a job was probably the best thing that could have happened to my family. He told me in a letter a few weeks ago that me sending some of my earnings back to him was the main reason he was able to start up his carpentry business, and I just… I’m happy to have helped him finally achieve his dream.”

He looked back up, more tears glistening in his eyes. Then he laughed to himself, wiping them away. “Sorry, I just get choked up easily.”

“No, you’re fine,” Grace reassured. “I mean, I cry a lot too, it’s fine.” 

Asher let out a snort, which, in turn, caused Grace to start cracking up. That is until she realized this was probably pretty disruptive to the other patrons. Yeah, that was a bad joke for sure. She turned to Abella, clarifying, “For legal reasons, that’s a joke.”

Asher started laughing again, and this one even managed to crack a smile from Rylan. But Abella didn’t seem to hear it. In fact, she almost seemed… distracted by something.

“Uh, you alright?” Grace asked, tentatively.

She blinked as if suddenly being thrown out of her thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered, with the voice of someone holding back tears.

“You sure?” Asher asked. “I mean, if you don’t want to talk-”

“No, no, I’m fine. It’s just… well, your story just kind of reminded me of my own parents.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Grace questioned.

“I-” she paused. “I don’t know. I mean, my dad for sure wasn’t the best because he left right after my brother was born. And my mom, she tried her hardest. At least, the hardest that she could while struggling with heart problems all her life. But she was a pretty good parent.”

Grace nodded, somewhat grasping her friend's situation. But one little detail about her wording was… off.”

“Sorry, did you say ‘was?’”

She didn’t answer. Not at first. She had dropped her ears loosely against her head. Some complex array of emotions sparkled in her eyes. 

“Yes.” When she finally answered, it was soft. And full of sorrow. “She… actually passed away last night.” 

A cold feeling filled Grace’s chest. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” Her words were barely more than a whisper.

“Yeah,” she continued, voice shaking more and more as she fought back tears. “What really sucks is that I literally just got laid off last week, so I’ve been job-hunting like crazy. But it’s really hard to find work as a minor, and I…” she paused as if she couldn’t bear to finish her sentence. “I really don’t want my brother to go hungry.”

After that final sentence, she gave up hiding her emotions. She began sobbing, softly, but forcefully, as if they had been building up for years. 

Without even thinking, Grace rushed to her side. But she wasn’t expecting her to embrace her in a tight hug as quickly as it happened. Asher was quick to join, and he two got roped into the hug. 

Time to slow down as this tender moment of raw emotion played out. Nothing was said between them. Nothing needed to be said. For that handful of moments, the rest of the universe seemed irrelevant. 

“Am I interrupting anything?” A foreign voice broke the peace.

It was the Breloom from earlier, looking a little off-put. Which was fairly reasonable.

“Uh, no, not really,” Asher stammered as everyone scrambled back to their seats. Abella furiously started wiping away her tears as Grace gave her fur a quick shake. To her surprise, she spotted Rylan darting back to his seat as well.

“Okay…” The hostess didn’t look any more convinced, but she didn’t press any further. “Well your drinks aren’t quite ready yet, but we would like to know if you wouldn’t mind adding a single patron. Cause like, we got swamped today and we ran out of bar seats a while ago.”

“Oh, that’s alright!” Asher said. “They can sit here.”

Breloom let out a relieved sigh. “Oh thank the Tapus.” She leaned back behind her to the stairs. “You’ve got a seat up here,” she called out to someone just out of view.

“Thank you,” a hauntingly deep voice answered as the mon in question came into view.

He was tall, a lot taller than she could have expected. Or maybe that was the average height for a Dusknoir. But was it a species-wide tread to have the print of a face on the stomach? Or a big hole where the face should be, with a lone red orb peering out of it? She hadn’t the slightest, and she wasn’t about to go ask.

Breloom reached over and put a second paper stand on the table. “Okay, drinks will be out ASAP. If you need anything, I’ll be at the front counter.” She then quickly ran off down the stairs, leaving them alone with the newcomer.

Grace was the first to speak up. “So, uh, should we raise the table?”

“No, that’s quite alright,” he responded. “I can just phase through the floor.” Everyone scooted a little closer as he took a seat at the table. Surprisingly, he partially sunk into the floor, most of his bottom half almost vanished beneath the floorboards. And he didn’t even seem to mind that much. Okay… not the weirdest thing she’d seen, but it was up there.

“Wait, so are we all paying separately?” Abella spoke up.

“No, I’m paying,” Asher answered. “Consider it my treat.”

She blinked. “Wait, you're serious?”

“Yeah. I mean, I know you’re a little short on cash, and I personally believe everyone should get something nice for themselves every once in a while.”

She smiled. “Thanks. I guess I’ll need the extra sugar while I’m job hunting.” 

“You should come work at the guild!”

Grace froze, realizing the words she just blurted out. Oh shit, did she really say that out loud? But fortunately, no one really seemed too alarmed. Abella actually seemed intrigued. “That’s actually not a terrible idea.” She paused, then turned to Asher. “Wait, are you guys hiring?”

“Pretty sure,” he said after a little bit of thought.

“Any prerequisites I should know about?”

“Not really. I mean, I was illiterate when I asked for an interview, and I still got in.’’ He smiled and shrugged. “As long as you’ve got the right attitude, you should be fine.”

“I…” she went quiet for a moment. One could almost see the invisible weight lifting off her shoulders as she realized just how close financial stability really was. “Thank you guys so much,” she said, with a huge smile on her face. “Maybe I could start saving up for a new Water Float.”

Now that last bit was a little shocking to hear. “Wait, you still haven’t found it?” Grace interjected.

She sighed. “No. I mean, we did manage to uncover that thief’s hoard back on Mt. Bristle, but the Water Float wasn’t there. And right now I’m pretty sure that’s the one thing to cheer my brother up. I don’t think I’ve seen him go this long without smiling,” she added that last part a little quieter.

“I might know a good place to look.” 

To everyone’s surprise, Dusknoir finally spoke up for the first time. And he looked completely serious. 

“Where?” Abella asked, some hope in her eyes.

“Amp Plains. I heard stories from the local Nomads that a band of thieves took up residence there.”

Abella looked like she was about to ask something else, but she was effectively cut off by Rylan suddenly slamming his paws on the table. “No, we’re not going,” he said dryly, looking Dusknoir dead in the eye as he spat out the words.

“I- why?” Grace asked, a little thrown off.

“Because last time we trusted a stranger, a kid basically got kidnapped and Grace was almost choked to death. I mean, this is the exact same scenario as last time. Older guy shows up, says he knows exactly where the Water Float is, then we follow him and bad shit goes down. I’m telling you, these types of folks don’t learn any new tricks-”

“And when did you start caring about other people?”

Asher’s comment was enough to genuinely stun him to silence. But not for long. “I just don’t trust this guy is all I’m saying. It’s just… too easy. Plus, last time it was just one guy. But to think he’s really saying the Float’s with an entire crime family? He’s almost definitely walking us right into an ambush!”

“I’m sorry, a crime family?!” Asher asked, horrified.

“Yup, and one of the fiercest ones around. Trying to take anything from them is just asking for a death sentence.”

 _How would you know this?_ The thought came to Grace’s mind, but she didn’t dare say it out loud.

“I understand your distrust,” Dusknoir spoke up. “But if you do believe my claims, I’ll join you. My strength could come in handy if a fight does break out. And if things get dangerous, I’ve got a few Escape Orbs that should get us out in seconds.”

“Yeah,” he snarled, “so you can run away as soon as the fight starts and then leave us all to die!”

Suddenly, Abella raised herself up, heavily leaning on the table, making herself seem a little taller. “Okay, everyone calm down!” She pointed to Rylan. “You specifically.” 

“I- do you not see that you’re walking right into a fucking trap?!? This is exactly what happened last time, except the cops aren’t going to magically show up at the last second. Okay? We’re in this alone, and you’re too stupid to think that we don’t have even the remote chance of coming out alive!”

“That’s enough!” It was Grace’s turn to dramatically slam her paws on the table. But what no one else had done yet was look around the cafe and see just how many patrons were staring their table down. Some anxiety began to well up in her throat, but she forced it down. 

“Okay, look,” she began, a lot quieter this time, “I know this situation is pretty high stakes. But I believe in Dusknoir, so I’ll go with him.” Before Rylan could object, she declared, “You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to, but I’m going.”

Dusknoir smiled a little. Or, she thought he smiled. It was kind of hard to tell in his case. “Thank you.” He turned to Abella. “And you, have you made up your mind yet?”

She drew in a breath. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m going. But just be aware that I still have some of my doubts.”

“I can’t come,” Asher confessed, somewhat suddenly. “I mean, I’m not really the best fighter, and I highly doubt Chatot would let me take time off work for a brawl. But I’ll be rooting for you guys for sure!”

Dusknoir looked around the table. “So, would that make three of us?”

“Four, actually,” Rylan grumbled. “I guess I’ll go too. I know the land pretty well, and could point out a few escape roots to make sure you don’t get yourselves killed.” He looked Dusknoir dead in the eye yet again. “For any reason.” He spat out the words with the most palpable hatred she had ever seen from him. 

He didn’t even seem remotely fazed. “So we’ve reached an agreement?”

“Pretty sure, yeah,” Grace said.

At that moment, a Mienfoo walked up the stairs, tray full of drinks in hand. And he was coming right to them. “Alright, I’ve got drinks for tables 52 and 56. Who’s got the Lum Berry Smoothie?”

“Oh, that’s mine,” Grace spoke up.

He set the tray on the table and slid her an intricate glass cup with a green pulp in it. “And the frozen hot chocolate?”

“That one’s for me,” Abella said.

A rather small glass cup with a cold brown drink came her way. “Two black coffees, with and without sugar.”

“Oh, those are ours,” Asher answered. Rylan didn’t really say anything, just kind of scowled at nothing particular.

He slid two ceramic white mugs to them, on plates of the same color. “The one on the right has sugar.” He turned to Dusknoir. “And I assume the caramel cappuccino’s yours?”

“Yes.”

Another mug, larger than the black coffee ones and with much more appetizing contents, was placed on the table. “Okay, need anything else? Possibly some baked goods.”

“No, I think we’re good,” Asher said.

“Alright.” He put a small but long piece of paper on the table. “Here’s your receipt, you can pay up front when you're ready.” He then picked up his empty tray and walked back down the stairs, not even acknowledging Asher’s little “thank you.”

Okay, the moment of truth. Did she pick out a good drink? Only one way to find out. She ever so carefully slipped a paw into the somewhat odd-looking handle (now that she thought about it, it was probably designed like that for guests with paws). She drew in a soft breath, then took a small sip.

Huh. It was fairly thick in consistency. And the taste was kind of like… a muted sweetness? Although she could definitely pick out the oran juice based. Overall, it was pretty good. She took a bigger sip, thankful that little guessing game turned out okay.

But she wasn’t the only one treading new waters. Dusknoir also seemed a little tentative of his choice of beverage. But instead of drinking it, he brought it closer to his stomach. Okay… was that a ghost type thing or...

To her quiet horror, the mouth print on his stomach opened up to reveal a gaping maw. He poured some of the drink in, and a pleasantly surprised look rose from his ‘face’. He poured a little more in before setting the cup back down on the table, wordlessly closing his mouth. 

“So, like, when were you thinking of meeting up?” Grace asked, trying to take her mind off of what she had just seen.

“Tomorrow for sure,” Abella answered, frozen hot chocolate in hand. “I’ve got to apply at a few more places and get my brother to sleep. How about we meet at the Public Warp Tower tomorrow morning at about 8?”

“Yeah, that works.”

She paused. “Dusknoir, you’re free then, right?”

He chuckled a little. “Oh please, call me Zephyr. And yes, I will be available.” 

“Then it’s settled,” Asher stated. Then a goofy smile formed as an idea hit him. “Let’s have a toast.” He picked up his cup by the hand and raised it above the table. “To not dying!”

“To not dying!” Four voices rang out as the sounds of glass and ceramic clinking filled the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enter bastard, stage left


	23. Heritage

The 29th of Long Sun

The bright light of the Warp Tower only made the destination eerier. Aside from the large dip dug up for the tower, a flat landscape of dry grass stretched as far as the eye could see. Giant black storm clouds loomed overhead, only adding to the tension. There wasn’t a soul around these parts. But even more disturbing was the complete lack of worn paths. They were completely alone. If something bad happened, no one would know.

“Well, here we are,” Zephyr stated solemnly. A bout of thunder rolled in the distance as if to emphasize his point. 

Rylan scoffed. “Still the same old dump,” he muttered to himself.

“We’re gonna have to be careful,” Abella added. “I read that HAPPI really had to fight to get a Warp Tower, so I don’t think they’ll be too friendly with domestics.”

“Domestics?” Grace asked.

“Mons who live in towns.”

“Ah.” Now Wigglytuff’s speech about the Caste was starting to make more sense. 

Abella turned to Zephyr. “Can I have that compass?”

“Sure.” He rifled through his bag, accompanied by the clinking of various orbs within. Eventually, he pulled out a small black object and handed it to Abella.

She held it out, and spun a little to the right. “Okay, if this is north…” She turned a little more. “ESE… Yup.” She turned back to the group, sporting a triumphant smile. “If I’m right, then the camp should be about 6 kilometers east from here.”

“Woah, how’d you figure that out?”

She chuckled. “It wasn’t that hard. I just spent a few hours studying up on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Dungeon Crawling last night. It had sections about all kinds of dungeons, including this one.” She paused. “Side note, don’t touch any blue stones. They’re charged with electricity.”

Rylan let out a sigh as he began walking where she had pointed. “Let’s just get this over with. The sooner we get this over with, the less time we can spend in this hellhole.”  
━──────≪✷≫──────━

Rylan ended up taking the lead. He never officially declared that he wanted to, but he tred the unmarked paths with the least hesitation. Also, he walked almost uncomfortably faster than any of them, and they weren’t about to tell him to slow down.

The landscape had hardly changed at all (the Warp Tower could still be seen), but every step Grace took only stirred up her fear even more. Something about being alone in the middle of nowhere terrified her. At least for the quest to Mt. Bristle, they had backup close behind. Or for Fogbound Lake, the only real danger was getting lost, and even that could be solved rather quickly. But out here? There was nothing and no one. Even if she did turn on her emergency signal, no one would find her in time. They were really, truly, alone.

“Are you alright?” Zephyr’s voice brought her back to reality. 

“Yeah,” she murmured. “Just a little nervous, that’s all.”

He nodded, before returning his gaze to the horizon. But that’s when she noticed something. 

He had a massive scar on his right shoulder. It was certainly an ugly one; whoever or whatever had done it had cut deep. But the weirdest part about it is that it almost looked like it was purposely carved in the shape of some beast. A different one from Fogbound, but a beast nonetheless.

“It’s old, don’t worry.” Zephyr must have caught her staring.

“Oh, uh, right.” She fell silent. Part of her wanted to ask about the scar and it’s origins. But the rest of her knew that there was absolutely no way she could do that, especially now. For starters, that was a very awkward question that she, realistically, should be waiting 2 years into their friendship to ask. Also, trekking through a wasteland with a hostile gang confirmed to exist in the area was quite possibly the worst place to exchange life stories-

“Intruders!”

She felt her blood run cold as a voice echoed across the plains. But that was nothing compared to the chorus of barks and howls that almost rivaled the incoming storm. Before she could even try to make a run for it, they were surrounded on all sides by a hoard of Electrike and Houndour. All of whom were snarling.

The tall grass behind her rustled, and the two hounds near that spot stepped back. Out stepped a Manectric and Houndoom, both very battle-scarred. And very angry. “What do you think you’re doing?” the Manectric snarled.

“Just passing through,” Zephyr answered, quickly and with remarkable level-headedness. Okay, she was definitely letting him do the talking.

“Right through the heart of our territory?!” The rest of the circle began growling even louder.

He hardly seemed phased. “It was an honest mistake. Now, if you would be so kind as to-”

“Absolutely not!” the Houndoom spoke up, easily matching the fire in her partner’s words. “We already have to deal with these thieving scum. The last thing we have time for is to escort some entitled little domestics who think they run this goddamn world.” The mutts shouted in agreement. 

And at that moment, the downpour began. Somewhat slowly, but it began. Little droplets began to dampen the grainy soil as Manectric declared, “Mark my words, this is the last mistake you’ll ever make.” He turned to his subordinates, flashing a devious smile. “Get ‘em.”

The circle began closing in. All her instincts told her to try and book it, but she couldn’t. Every way she turned was met with a snarling nomad. Pretty soon, all four of them were standing back to back.

“Alright, smartass, what’s your next move?” Rylan hissed.

“We still have Plan B,” Zephyr reassured under his breath. “Or rather, a modified version of it.”

“And what kind of changes does that plan have?” Abella questioned.

“We might need to fight a few of them.”

Grace, on the other hand, had already accepted her death, but then immediately realized she couldn't. She had an entire world to save! But she doubted she could just tell them. _Howdy hoe, hostile people. You should probably leave me alone because i'M tHe ChOsEn OnE. Don’t get too close or you’ll get a beating with my Chosen One Friendship Powers™._ Honestly, it was getting a little annoying how many times she’d looked death in the eye in the span of a month. But it was only a matter of time before some deus ex machina would kick down the metaphorical front door to swoop in and save her before she even lifted a finger-

“Golden Ash Horde, attack!”

It was at that moment that all hell broke loose. With only those four words as a warning, a golden Luxray with glossy red horns lept out from almost nowhere, squarely landing on Manectric. Then an ocean of Shinx and Litleos emerged from the bushes to take down the mutts. 

Holy shit she was right. She had been joking, but she was right. However, it quickly became clear that they weren’t truly here just to defend her. “Zephyr, let’s get-”

He was already gone. 

But no time to dwell on that! A sizable gap had opened in the chaos, and she wasn’t about to waste this opportunity. She booked it, weaving amidst the madness of bolts, flames, and fangs. It wasn’t until she ducked behind a rock before she could properly assess the battlefield. 

Well, she was at least right about that Golden Ash Horde not being her knight in shining armor. She remembered fighting those Pinsirs outside of Fogbound, and how the apprentices had helped each other out. Setting up combos, deflecting attacks, even combining moves at times. But this was a goddamn free-for-all. 

Wait, didn’t that Houndoom say something about dealing with thieving scum. Yeah, she did. So these guys probably didn’t have the Water Float. Hold on… did that mean the Luxray gang were the thieves?!

A cry of pain pushed her to peek behind her rock. It was from Abella, cornered by two Electrike. She was clutching some wound on her arm, a hint of blood dripping down her fur. It was clearly a standoff, and the window of intervention was small. But not too small.

“Leave her alone!” She let out a war cry as she threw a set of Will-o-Wisps, one for each mutt. Both were immediately shot down and extinguished by the downpour. Stupid rain. All she had accomplished was getting their attention. 

Now they stalked toward her, snarling. Her heart began to pound in her throat as they barred the same teeth they were going to dig into her throat. Then one of them charged. 

She let out a short cry, bracing herself. But as he leaped at her, his war cry was abruptly cut off by some force swatting him down midair. Had... had she done that?

The remaining Electrike was quickly tackled by a Litleo, and Grace quickly grabbed Abella’s uninjured arm to drag her behind a small dent in the prairie landscape. From there, they both let some of their adrenaline fade away as the battle continued without them.

“I see you’ve picked up a couple of moves since last time,” Abella said.

“Yeah.” She shook out her fur, even though she knew it was futile. “Wish I had known I could do that back at the Hypno fight.”

She sighed, gingerly wiping some blood off her wound. For some reason, the rain seemed to simply slide off her fur. “Yeah, the Will-o-Wisps would definitely work better when it wasn’t pouring. But Extrasensory… I don’t think you could really move someone that big.”

So that was her doing. Huh. Neat! “I probably could have thrown rocks at him.”

She laughed, then winced as she pulled an entire tooth out of her arm. She held it for a second, turning it over in her hand a few times. Then she shrugged and threw it to the side. “I think that kid must have had a loose tooth or something,” she said to no one in particular.

The bite actually didn’t look too bad. That tooth had been the only thing to draw blood. But she was still injured, and they might not get another break like this. “Where’s the bag?” Grace asked.

“Zephyr had it.” She paused, a rumble of thunder filling in the silence. “Do you think he dipped?”

“I…” Her mind answered with a resounding yes, of course he left them to die in the middle of nowhere. But for once, a feeling in her gut thought otherwise. “No,” she stated. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I can’t. I just… I trust him.”

She nodded, somewhat unconvinced. Then she paused. “Wait, where’s Rylan?”

“I don’t know, but I doubt he’s far.” She drew in a breath of courage before she left the security of the ditch to look back out at the chaos. Her eyes darted through the heart of the battle. It was a multicolored mess of pelts. Yowls and growls almost drowned out the rain itself. And in the very center of it was Houndoom and a Pyroar, circling each other in some tense standoff. Then the Houndoom pounced with a howl, and the fight was on. 

She dropped back into the ditch. She couldn’t stay up for long. Someone could spot her. Abella must have just had the same revelation because she too felt back to safety. “One at a time?” she asked, nearly shouting to be heard over it all.

“Yeah.” A count to three and Grace rose again. It didn’t help that the storm snuffed out all the sunlight. Or the sheer number of other Shinxes on the battlefield. But he had to be somewhere in the fight. Where else would he be?

Then she spotted a blue pelt duck behind a rock. 

Something within the rock glowed a faint blue, casting them in an odd light. They didn’t look too terribly injured, aside from a cut on the ear. But they were breathing heavily. So heavily, in fact, she could almost hear their tight gasps from where she stood. 

Were they experiencing a panic attack? Or whatever Chimecho had called it. A pang of sympathy hit her. She knew how those felt. She didn’t care if they were part of the thief’s gang, she wanted to help them. 

“One sec,” she told Abella. “I’ll be right back.” She took one quick glance out at the battle, before darting behind the nearest rock. A small shock nipped one of her tails, and she flinched. Huh, Abella was right about the rock. 

She looked back over at the poor panicking soul. They were still a ways away, but she was a little bit closer. Another glance out, and she ran, this time darting into the tall grass and rapidly flattening herself down. There was no more cover between the two of them. She was going to have to make this quick.

A bolt of lightning briefly lit up the sky. But in that quick moment, she saw something, and disbelief filled her to her very core. 

“Rylan?”

Her words were lost to a ferocious clap of thunder. She stared, in utter shock, as he fought to quiet his breaths. Rylan, the resident asshole who took no shit from anyone, who never backed down from a fight, who was quite possibly one of the strongest people she knew, was having a panic attack. No. There was no way. Even though she saw it happening in front of her, she couldn’t bring herself to believe it. 

And that is when things went from bad to worse.

From seemingly out of nowhere, a golden Luxio pounced on him, driving him to the ground. Rylan struggled against his attacker for a little, but the giant paw pinning him down by the chest didn’t let him accomplish much.

“Well, well, well,” the Luxio sneered. “If it isn’t my little brother, the traitor.” He paused, looking at something under paws. “And you even brought back Dad’s missing treasure. How thoughtful.”

“Get. Off.” His gasps had become even more desperate with the added pressure to his chest. 

“Nah, I don’t think I will,” he said with a cruel smile. “You know, I kind of missed having you around. You’ve always had a knack for making me feel less weak just by sticking around.” He checked the claws on his other paw as if this whole exchange was rather mundane. “On the other hand, I’m sure Dad wouldn’t mind if I used your pelt for a new welcome mat.”

Holy shit he was going to kill him. Okay, what were her options? Will-o-Wisp was definitely out of the question because it had only started raining harder since she tried that last. Extrasensory? No, she still wasn’t entirely sure how to fight with something like that. But maybe with a lighter target…

With as little warning as possible, she willed a rock by her foot to throw itself at Luxio’s face. Surprisingly, the rock did just that. Even more surprising was that it hit him right in the eye. He screeched in pain, which gave Rylan just enough time to bolt away. 

“Get back here you little shit!” Luxio roared, almost disregarding his pain to chase after him.

But he didn’t get far before Grace stepped in his path. She was the only thing standing between the brothers. “Back off,” she commanded. She wasn’t scared, for some reason. Just filled to the brim with the utter need to protect her teammate. Her friend.

“Get out of my way,” he growled. Another bolt of lightning lit the sky, revealing just how massive his fangs were.

But against all odds, she stood her ground. “No. I’m the one who’s trespassing. Your quarrel is with me.”

He blinked, genuinely surprised. His rage seemed to dissolve as he chuckled to himself, another bout of thunder rumbling in the background. But then he gave her a look. One that only meant trouble. “Well, I do suppose your pelt would make a good rug.”

It was then she realized just how fucked she was.

With a roar, he shot out a yellow bolt right at her face. She let out a panicked yelp as she ducked, just barely dodging the attack. Then she bolted behind one of those glowing rocks. 

Okay, there were a couple of possible outcomes of this. Preferably, they would end up rotating around the rock just the point where she had a clear shot for the Warp Tower. Then she could book it and lose him in the tall grass. Or she could lose him by running right through the heart of the fight. A little riskier, but it was probably the easiest way she could shake him. 

But he didn’t look tense. He almost seemed… amused? Then he started laughing. “Oh, you’re almost making this too easy.”

He shot another bolt straight at her. To her horror, the bolt went right through the rock, changing to a brilliant white. And before she could even react, white hot pain shot through her entire body. She fell to the ground, reveling in a brand new type of agony.

Luxio calmly walked around the rock. She tried to run, but couldn’t. What? She tried again. Nothing. It was like her muscles were ignoring the desperate screams of her mind. Oh god, it was the ‘Groudon’ fight all over again. 

Except this time it was real.

He was standing over her now, smirking. “Rookie mistake.” She felt a single claw lightly trace her jawbone. Terror pulsed through her veins as she realized just how powerless she was, how she was completely at his mercy. And he didn’t seem like the type for mercy. 

Then he raised a paw and swiped. She could only scream as claws tore across the right side of her face. “That’s for the eye.” She could only watch a murderous rage fill his eyes before the world vanished in a mess of blood and rainwater. “And this,” he growled, “is for teaming up with a traitor!”

But he never got to deliver the fatal blow. There was just a startled yelp as something swatted him away. Was it part of the Manectric group? Manectric himself? Or maybe it was that horned Luxray, not willing to let his son have all the fun. 

Then they picked her up with a single arm. “Oh goodness, are you alright?” Fortunately, the voice that spoke was one that she recognized. 

“Zephyr?” She asked. “Is that you? Wait, where have you been?”

“Looking for the Water Float at the thieves’ base while they were distracted. And now I’ve got it, so let’s get out of here.” He paused for something, but considering it was now that her tails touched the soaked earth, he was probably hiding behind something. “Where’s Abella?”

“Uh, she’s pretty close. There may or may not be a chance that she’s already seen us.”

And sure enough, a set of footsteps could barely be heard, and Abella’s voice could be heard over the storm. “Oh thank god you’re here,” she said, relieved. “I really thought you dipp- holy shit, Grace, what happened?”

“Uh- I’m fine, I promise,” she reassured, almost instinctively. 

Before she could disagree, Zephyr spoke up. “Okay, I think the fight is starting to die down, so we might not have much time. You two get to the Warp Tower, and if there is any trouble, you go back to town, even if I’m not there. I’ll keep looking for Rylan.”

“And, how exactly are we going to get there safely?” Abella asked.

“With this.” Something broke nearby, and the ground disappeared beneath her paws, only for it to reform seconds later. Except this time, the area was far quieter. The noises of battle had been left behind, with only a thunderstorm to accompany them now.

They were safe.

“Oh thank the Gods that’s over,” she sighed. 

“Yeah,” Grace responded, flicking her injured ear. Wait, she could move again? Yeah, even now, she was starting to regain feeling in her limbs. “Okay, do me a huge favor and help me get back up.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” She could hear her humming softly, and it was a few seconds before she felt paws on her back. “Alright, on the count of three.”

A shared count to three, and Abella began to lift her. Grace tried her best to steady herself on her own. Soon enough, she was standing upright. And then she fell almost immediately. At least the Warp Tower was right there, and she could safely lean on that.

Intrigue and puzzlement danced in Abella’s eyes. “I don’t think that’s how Electric-induced Paralysis is supposed to work. I mean, it tends to last longer, but it’s less intense. Like someone of your strength should be able to stand on their own.”

She shrugged. Or tried to, at least. “Well, the guy shot an attack through one of those blue rocks and it changed color. So maybe that has something to do with it?”

“Yeah, it probably does.” 

More lightning cast a brief light on the plains. In that instant, she could see that Abella had a few more bite marks on her arms, but none of them looked terrible. And in turn, she could see just how awful she looked. “Maybe we should head back,” Abella stated, worry prickling her gaze.

Leave? Now? Without the other two? “No, we can’t,” Grace insisted.

“Why not?” Some new emotion entered her voice, most likely a form of sisterly stern. “You’re pretty badly hurt, and believe it or not, I can’t really fight for shit. I- Zephyr even told us he could catch up later! We literally have no reason to stick around.”

“I know, I just…” she trailed off. That image of Rylan cowering at his brother’s hand would not leave her alone. Guilt started to gnaw at her stomach. If they left now, if they left this dump behind, he could get hurt again. And maybe more than psychologically this time. 

But she doubted that he would want her to go around telling everyone of that moment in the plains. And there was no way to present a good argument without revealing what she had seen. “I just don’t feel right about leaving anyone behind,” she concluded, softer. 

She paused, then let out a sigh. “Fine, we can stay here for now.” She began messing with a mounted keyboard just outside the marked circle on the ground. “But if anyone comes through that tall grass, we are gone, no exceptions.”

As soon as she said that, the snapping of halfway dead plants became heard over the storm. Abella froze, before muttering a soft “shit” to herself and typing away even more frantically. Grace, however, could do nothing except brace herself for whatever was on their way.

But fortunately, it was just Rylan, tumbling down the sudden drop. He was completely out of breath, his gasps heavy and pronounced. Holy shit the mad lad really ran here all by himself.

Abella sighed. “Oh thank the stars it’s just you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He said between gasps. He let out a particularly violent cough and wiped his muzzle before sitting down inside the marked circle. At least with the rain, it was impossible to tell whether or not he was actually crying. 

“Okay,” Abella spoke up, “seeing as you two aren’t in the best shape, and Zephyr can probably handle himself for a bit, I vote we go back to town now. Or as soon as I figure out how to work this thing…” she added to herself.

Grace sighed. She was right. As much as she didn’t want to leave anyone behind, she was more than ready to go home and sleep it off. Or at least try to sleep it off. 

She looked over at Rylan. He was licking a wound on his paw. Maybe he stepped on something during his mad dash. A few new scratches stained his pelt, but other than that, he seemed fine. Emphasis on seemed. 

It wasn’t long before he caught her staring. “What?” His voice radiated pure exhaustion, but even then he was trying to be a little intimidating.

“Nothing.” She looked away. She drew in a breath, acutely aware of the rain hitting the brand new dent on her ear. All this for a Water Float? It for sure wasn’t worth this mess. But she helped a friend, and everyone made it out alive. That’s all that mattered.

“So this is where you’ve been.” An unfamiliar voice made her blood run cold. 

It was that golden Luxray, his horns glowing ominously as he stood on the highest side of the dip. But he was alone for some reason. And the weird part is he didn’t even seem angry. Just… disappointed? A hostile disappointment, but still. 

“I knew you were a lost cause, but I didn’t think you would stoop down to this level.” His voice was smooth like rolling thunder, sounding natural amongst the downpour. But his words seemed perfectly crafted to cut deep. “To live among these domestics, these subdued folk.” 

“But I suppose a weakling like you couldn’t survive anywhere else.” 

The frantic keyboard sounds stopped. “I’ve got this thing running, let’s get the fuck out of here,” Abella said, eyes darting between the screen and the stranger.

But he didn’t try to stop them. He just shot one last disapproving look before disappearing behind the dip, the red four-sided star on his tail almost waving them goodbye. Or good riddance.

The drawn circle began to glow faintly as the tower prepared to fire them back to the familiar. She drew in a breath. There still could be danger lurking just out of sight, and she was more than ready to not have to worry about nomadic turf wars. But the last thing she saw before the tower sent her home wasn’t the endless plains or one last bolt of thunder. Or even another stray foe.

It was the completely mortified look on Rylan’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Phil Swift voice* that's a lot of damage


	24. Dusknoir

The 30th of Long Sun

The lobby was empty. 

Everyone had already left for the day. No one else was around to watch Grace anxiously sit in a corner, tails wrapped tightly around her legs. 

Where was Rylan? He said he would meet her after doing something. Well, he never said that, but it’s what she got from their incredibly brief conversation that morning.

Was he perhaps in the Training Room? Yeah, probably. He always spent so much time there. She drew in a breath before continuing down the westernmost hallway. Maybe he just wanted to work on something quick and lost track of the time. Or was he… 

No, of course not. What reason would he have to avoid her? Okay, maybe he did have a reason. Honestly, now that she thought about it, she’d be pretty mad if she had been dragged to some far off place you were avoiding. Well, internally, at least. 

A realization hit her as soon as she stepped foot in the better lit hallway. Oh no, which one was the training room again? Aside from those painted symbols, all the doors looked the same! Was she just supposed to barge into every room and pray to whatever gods were out there that it was the room she wanted? Guess so.

She tried the lower handle of the first door on the left, and immediately recoiled from the static shock. As she was still trying to figure out what had happened, she heard a distant yowl from behind the door.

Well, that certainly answered her question.

She gently pushed the wooden part of the door open. “Uh, Rylan?” she asked, tentatively. “You in here?”

A half ledge separated the entrance from the rest of the room. She couldn’t quite see over it, but the pressing silence told her no one was behind it. Maybe there was no one here? No, this place probably had a couple of rooms. So she kept looking.

Beyond the half ledge, the room itself was somehow both simple and unusual. Both the walls and the floors were padded. The immediate area was devoid of anything besides walls and whatever the floors were made of. There were a few signs higher up on the walls. 

There was no doubt about it. This was definitely some kind of co-op training arena. So Rylan definitely wouldn’t be here. But where else would he be?

Another half ledge sat at the opposite end of the room. And just beyond that, a hallway continued. Maybe back there? A loud crack of electricity answered the question for her.

She scampered across the room, noticing how her paws seemed to leave small dimples in the flooring. She passed around the other ledge, then paused. More rooms, more dimly lit than the first one. “Hello?” Her voice echoed through the hallway. 

No response. She let out a sigh. It probably wasn’t the best idea to keep looking. Maybe she could just tag along with someone else’s group for the day?

She couldn’t. Rylan hadn’t said anything since they got back from Amp Plains yesterday. And something about what she had seen back there just… didn’t sit right with her. 

She peeked into the first room on the right. Nothing but well-worn punching bags and scratching posts. But no Rylan. Okay, next room. 

The next room had a few wooden targets on the walls. All of them were littered with scratches and burn marks. Still no Rylan. 

Okay, third time’s a charm. She drew in a breath before peeking into the next room. Surprisingly, Rylan was here this time. He sat silently, panting as he stared at something on the floor. It was a decent sized log, possibly from a birch tree. Split right down the middle.

He sighed, shaking his head, then froze when he saw Grace standing in the doorway. “What do you want?” He growled.

“Uh, nothing. I was just…”

No. She couldn’t just leave him. Not after yesterday. “Look, you said you needed to do something quick before we left-“

“I never said anything.” He put one of the birch halves back on a low-hanging shelf on the wall. 

She stopped. But this time, she wasn’t planning to quit that easily. “What even is with you?”

“What are you talking about?” He didn’t even bother to look at her. But for some reason, this didn’t make her want to run away and cry. Some other emotion began to build up in her chest. For the first time since arriving in this world, she felt...

Anger.

She quickly stepped in front of him, looking him dead in the face. “Everything! You get in fights with others so often it’s becoming routine. You’re always running off for ‘training,’ even when we have missions to do. And when I do finally get you to go, you either say absolutely nothing or complain the whole time.”

“Shut up…” For once, his words were hardly a whisper.

“No, I’m not going to. I’m sick of dealing with your shit. And I know you’ve got some things going on in your life, and they can be pretty hard to deal with. But you haven’t tried to talk to anyone about anything. You haven’t even tried to work together as the team we’re supposed to be!!”

“SHUT UP!!!” 

At that moment, a storm of electricity filled the room. She instinctively ducked even though she knew there was no way to dodge this. A fiery sensation shot through her before she could scream. It vanished just as quickly as it arrived, even if it left behind a burning pain. 

There was a tense moment of silence as she stood there stunned. And not just from the bolt strike. A quiet outrage began to well up in her chest. 

He turned away, sitting in the corner with his ears flattened against his skull. “If you’re so pissy about how I live my life, then why don’t you just call off this whole guild bullshit and we go our separate ways?”

“Fine, maybe I will.” She spat the words out without hesitation.

“See you around.” 

“Yeah. Good riddance.”

Not another word was said by either side as she left the room.  
━──────≪✷≫──────━  
Grace was a horrible person. She knew that now more than ever.

It was a little later, and the weight of what she had just done was beginning to sink in. She had plenty of time to dwell on that now, since she made the mistake of not grabbing a request on her way out. And she couldn’t go back because then people would get suspicious. So she’d just been sitting, under the shade of a lone willow tree on a hill, staring down at the town, regretting all of her life choices.

Maybe she should have just gone on a quest alone. It probably would have been less stressful in the first place, with the bonus of ignoring the crippling problem at hand. But no, she had to confront him and ruin everything.

But it wasn’t like she had the courage to actually call off the team. She didn’t even know how to. And even if she did, what came next? The only two people she actually talked to were both employees (hopefully, since she still hadn’t heard back about Abella’s interview). They couldn’t form a team with her even if they wanted to. So what was supposed to do? Just jump into a random team and pray to whatever god was out there that they would tolerate her? 

The salty sea breeze rustled with her fur. Willow branches danced in the air above her. It sure was beautiful here. But it was so loud, and even after all this time she still felt so out of place. She closed her eyes to the dappled sunlight.

Maybe she should just leave.

There wasn’t much of a reason to stick around anymore. And besides, there were probably answers about her role in this world somewhere. There had to. She thought back to what Uxie told them a few days ago. Was she really the one that they trusted to save the world? What did that even involve in the first place?

The Time Gears. She was supposed to save the Time Gears. A rush of joy filled her when she finally discovered her purpose. However, it quickly receded when she realized what that involved.

She was going to have to stop the Time Gear thief. 

Oh god, oh no no no no. She had to stand up to them? Whoever they were. The authorities still didn’t know. Which only made things worse on her end! How was she supposed to stop them? Then an even more chilling question hit her.

What would happen if she failed?

“I’m a bit surprised to see you here.” A familiar voice snapped her out of her thoughts. It was none other than Zephyr, ‘standing’ just on the edge of the tree’s shadow. 

“Oh, well, I guess I could say the same to you,” she answered with a forced laugh.

He only lightly laughed along. A few awkward moments of silence passed before he asked. “Is it alright if I sit with you?”

“Uh, yeah. Go ahead.”

He sat down next to her, fully engulfed in the splotchy shadows. For a moment, they just sat there, quietly enjoying each other’s company. Then he popped the standard question for those who didn’t know what to talk about. “So, how have you been?”

Awful. Just absolutely awful. Like ‘I want to crawl into a hole and die slowly’ awful. “I’ve been alright. You?”

He let out a heavy sighed. “I’ve actually been extremely busy as of late.”

She sat up. “Oh, with what?”

“I’m not sure I’m allowed to say.”

“Ah.”

The silence that followed was somewhat peaceful. Or it would have been if Grace didn’t have so much on her mind. If only she had just complied with him, if only she hadn’t stood up and yelled at him about dumb things that weren’t even worth bringing up, they would still be on speaking terms. But it was too late now. There was no going back. She was going to have to fulfill her role alone. And it was all her fault.

“Are you alright?” Zephyr asked, somewhat unprompted.

“Uh, yeah,” she lied. There she went, bottling up her feelings yet again. But what even was the alternative? Blabbing all her problems to someone she met literally two days ago?

“Are you sure?”

She paused. Something about the way he said those three words almost seemed like an invitation to dump her worries out. Maybe… maybe it was okay to let herself tell him about her immediate problems, as a treat.

“Not really,” she said, finally. “I… kind of got in a fight with Rylan.”

He nodded. “Yeah, a fight with a friend really tends to ruin a day.”

“I mean, he wasn’t really my friend. It’s… complicated.” She drew in a breath, building up courage. “Um, you’re okay with me venting for a minute, right.”

“Oh, of course. Go ahead.”

So she told him about the fight. Or at least, it started with just relaying the fight to him. But one thing began to lead to another, and eventually, she ended up telling him everything. The dreams. The amnesia. The panic attacks. The episodes over the last few days, both her own and Rylan’s. Even the first morning on the beach, and her apparent role in this world.

And not once did he stop listening. Not once did he stop her and say that she was just overreacting. Not even when she had to stop because she was crying too heavily to get a single word out. He just helped calm her back down and helped remind her what she was talking about last. Most importantly, he stayed through all of it.

When she finally felt like she said everything, she let out a slow sigh. “Sorry if that was a bit much,” she apologized, wiping a few remaining tears off her face.

“No, it’s alright,” he reassured. “I feel like you needed this.”

He was right. In the aftermath of spilling her entire life story, she did feel better. “Yeah. It felt good to get all that off my chest.”

He sighed, looking off into the distance. “I guess it’s also nice to know that we have the same goals.”

She blinked. “Wait, what do you mean?”

He didn’t answer at first. Instead, he looked around the surrounding area. Which was weird, because no one else was around- wait, hold on. He was making sure no one else was around to hear! Oh shit, what was he about to tell her?

After a few seconds of anticipatory silence, he turned to her, leaning in close. “So you know how I mentioned I’ve been busy?” He started, in a soft whisper.

“Yeah?” Some emotion began to well up in her chest, and for once it wasn’t a bad thing.

“I’ve actually been sent to capture the Time Gear thief.”

“Really? I… holy shit, I don’t have to do this alone.” She didn’t know it was possible to feel excited and relieved at the same time. But lo and behold, she had an ally in this mess after all. Thank god.

He laughed to himself. “That certainly wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.”

“Sorry,” she apologized quickly.

“No, it’s alright. I just didn’t expect you to be so enthusiastic.”

“Right.” She pulled at the grass at her paws, before another question hit her. “Wait, so do you know who we’re dealing with?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” As Grace let out another sigh of relief, he pulled over his admittedly large bag and began rifling through it. “I swear I saved at least one of these flyers,” he muttered to himself, before pulling out a folded piece of paper. She practically held her breath in anticipation as the paper was unfolded.

It was similar to those wanted posters back at the guild. But it was structured differently. Instead of a bullet point list of occupation and last known location, it was a much larger paragraph, starting with a bold red word that she could only be ‘warning.’ There wasn’t a reward either, for some reason. Maybe it was just asking for information?

But the pencil headshot was the important part. It had the semi-realistic style of the other wanted posters she’d seen, aside from the fact that it was in full color. The bust in question was one of a Grovyle. He almost looked… normal. Well, he would have, if it wasn’t for the black vine-like markings on the face, and his red and gold eyes seemed extra sinister. 

She swallowed hard. “Geez, this guy looks dangerous.”

He nodded, a solemn look in his eye. “Yes. He’s actually been a major threat back in my old town. I know all his tricks. Which is exactly why I’m helping you.”

Hope flared in her chest as she continued. “I’ve already got his information to the authorities, so if anyone spots him, we’ll know. All we have to do is catch him before it’s too late.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be hard with you around, won’t it?” 

He let out a hearty chuckle. “Oh, you’re too kind.”

She laughed a little to herself. Then she remembered something. 

“Okay, this is completely unrelated, but I just remembered something else weird.” She pulled her scarf off with a hind paw. It fell on the grass with a soft thump. Don’t mess this up, she told herself, drawing in a breath of focus. Almost like magic, the paper in the secret pocket began to wiggle itself out. She watched it rise in the air, all the way to her face. 

Then it fell on the ground. She let out a huff, trying again. It was far shakier this time, and she could barely keep it airborne.

“Uh, let me help you with that,” Zephyr said, simply picking it up.

She let out a heavy sigh. “Thanks.” To be fair, she had literally just learned that move yesterday, and she wasn’t that good with moves, to begin with.

“So, what is this?” He asked.

“Oh, right,” she began. “You know how I woke up with this scarf, right?” 

“Yes,” he said, unfolding the paper delicately.

“Okay. Well, apparently that paper has been there the whole time too.”

He looked surprised, but only slightly. “Now that I‘m looking, I can see the water damage.”

As he studied the unfolded paper, she shrugged. “It doesn’t really tell me anything about my past, but it’s still a piece of my old life. Plus it’s a pretty cool drawing.”

“It really is.” Then he paused. He held the paper a little closer, reading a single word to himself. Xavier. 

Then his expression saddened. 

Ever so slightly.

Something in her lit up with hope. “Wait, do you know the guy who made it?” She asked.

He didn’t answer at first. He just folded up the paper before saying, “I’m afraid not.”

She nodded. Dammit. So close.

He dropped the paper before ‘standing up.’ “I should probably get going. This Time Thief isn’t going to catch himself.”

“Right.”

He hesitated, before clearing his throat. “I assume you’d want some help with the scarf.”

“Oh, yes please.”

He slipped the paper back into the hidden pocket, tapping it down until it was fully concealed. Then he wrapped the scarf around her neck. It was a little tighter than normal, but she wasn’t about to complain about that.

After that was done, she stood up as well. “Okay, uh, I’ll see you around,” she said.

“Safe travels!” And with that, he engulfed himself in an eerie purple light and vanished.

She sighed. Okay, now what? She still couldn’t go back to the guild until closer to sundown, and she for sure didn’t have the mental energy to peruse the heart of town. A walk through the neighborhood sounded nice. Yeah, she could do that. Maybe just saunter around for a while until sundown. 

But was that normal? Well, she was going to have to leave the neighborhood eventually. If it was socially acceptable, then she could explore for the rest of the day. If not, then there was probably some other tree she could take a nap under. So she stood up and walked down the stone steps on the hill, leaving the cool shade of the willow behind.

As the steps flattened into a cobblestone road, cozy little houses began to pop up on either side. Though they all looked the same. Tan walls with a dark brown roof, two windows, shaped sort of like a giant lum berry. It was the yards where things really stood out. 

Some of them had a stretch of short cut grass, some quaint little patches of flowers planted on the edges of the area. Others had extravagant greenery, so full of expertly crafted plant life it was nearly impossible to see the stone path leading to the front door. Still others had a handful of small trees, casting shade on the group of mons chatting on a picnic blanket. 

There really was a lot to look at here. But she couldn’t help but let her mind wander as she walked. She thought back to Zephyr, more specifically the reaction to her picture. As much as she wanted to ask why he was lying, she knew she couldn’t. Maybe this Xavier fellow was a touchy subject for him. Childhood best friends? Exes, maybe? Who knew? Certainly not her. Maybe after all this was over, she could ask him.

The sounds of children screaming caught her attention. To her right, a path to a small field of fresh-cut grass broke the flow of constant houses. A group of younger mons were playing some kind of game. One would toss a ball in the air while calling out some number, and everyone else would scramble to catch it. It looked fun. Part of her wanted to join in, but she knew she couldn’t. She didn’t know any of them, and she was probably older than them. It would just be weird. She shook the thought aside and continued. 

Right at the start of the path stood some chatting adults, possibly their parents. She was going to have to pass them, but she should be fine as long as she didn’t stick around too long. But as she did, she caught a small snippet of their conversation.

“...and my oldest still thinks this High Summer conspiracy thing is real, which I suppose explains his recent behavior.”

“Well, the paper this morning said that the third Time Gear was stolen just last night, so it couldn’t be…”

Oh no.

She was running out of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No rest for the living, I suppose


	25. The Hero’s Journey

The 2nd day of High Summer

She sat alone for breakfast. Like usual. But what wasn’t usual was the stolen biscuit she was forcing herself to eat. In the safety of her room, of course.

Rylan was already gone. It didn’t matter. They were basically disbanded, anyway. Besides, he probably didn’t want to get roped in to anything else. He had already been forced into the guild. Why force him to help save the world if they couldn’t even get along?

Nausea welled up in her stomach. Was she really going to do this? It wasn’t like she had much of a choice. Zephyr was probably busy, and so was Chatot. And as much as the library could have helped, she still hadn’t learned to read. She swallowed down the rest of her biscuit. There really was no other option. She had to do this. Throwing her bag around her neck, she slipped out of her room, quietly closing the door behind her. 

The apprentice lobby was extra lively today. Lots of apprentices were filing in and out of their rooms, getting a few things ready before starting their day. As she walked, she heard enthusiastic chatter from a cluster of apprentices. Her heart sank. Part of her wanted that kind of bond with someone— anyone. But she couldn’t. She knew now that something like that would just distract her from her role. She was only here to save the world, right?

The chatter of the second floor lobby faded out as she stared at the door to the Guildmaster’s room. Anxiety began to build up in her chest but she forced it down. She had to do this. If anyone knew anything about where the last two Time Gears could be, it would be him. 

She knocked on the door. She held her breath, waiting for an answer. Nothing. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe…

“Hey Grace?”

She turned to the voice behind her, and she felt her heart skip a beat when she realized it was Oliver. “Oh, uh, hey,” she stammered. “How are you doing?”

“I’ve been okay.” He drew in a breath, some complicated array of emotions in his juniper green eyes. “Look, I’ve been meaning to tell you something for a while.”

Holy shit. No, there was no way. Was this actually happening? “Uh, yeah?”

“It’s about… what happened between us at Fogbound.”

Oh my god it really was happening. “Well, I do like you back, if that’s what you’re asking.”

He laughed. God, his laugh filled her with such joy. “I mean, I kind of figured that out.” Then his expression began to sink. “But…”

“I just… don’t think a relationship between us could work.”

Oh.

“It’s not your fault, I promise,” he reassured frantically. “I just… I've been thinking about this for a while. And as much as I do want to get together, I don’t think I’m really ready to right now. Like, my parents were pretty transphobic, and I’m still kind of healing from that, and I don’t think—“

“It’s okay.”

He blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s probably better for everyone that you focus on your own problems first.” 

“I… thanks for understanding.”

“No problem.”

He turned to leave, shooting her one last sorrowful look. She didn’t want to see him leave—no, there wasn’t a choice. A relationship would just distract her from her role in this world. It was probably for the best that he was the one to turn her down. But that logic couldn’t fix the hollow feeling in her heart.

The door opened behind her.

The Guildmaster peeked out from the door, and perked up a little when he saw who had knocked. “Oh, hello!” He greeted her. “How can I help you?”

“Hi, um…” she drew in a breath. This had to be done too. “I just wanted to ask you about something real quick.”

“Oh, of course.” He opened the door a little wider, motioning her inside. “Come in!” 

The room looked about the same as it was last time she was here. Red woven rug, torches on the walls, neat and tidy cobblestone floor. It really did look exactly like she remembered it. But instead of offering her a seat on the floor like last time, he wordlessly closed the door behind them and lifted up a banner on the far right wall.

To her surprise, there was a dim spiral staircase leading down, only a little natural light brightening it. He motioned her down, before proceeding down himself. Thankfully, he held the banner up long enough for her to make it in without too much hassle.

The stairs were pretty steep, steeper than any of the other staircases in the guild. A few small windows helped light this place up a little. But worry still pricked her chest as they descended deeper.

Eventually, they came to a door at the bottom. And as Wigglytuff opened it to reveal the room at the bottom, she felt herself ease up.

This room already felt much more homely, and not just because of the warm orange lighting. There was a stovetop, an oven, and a fair amount of counter space, all along the right wall. A massive rug covered up the cold stone floor. There was a table in the middle of the room, with a fruit stand stocked to the brim with apples. A pink and blue flag hung from the wall, and she could see a pair of beds hidden behind a bead curtain toward the back.

“This is… pretty nice,” Grace remarked.

“Yep, one of the only perks of living with a neat freak.”

The kettle on the stovetop began to shriek, white hot steam erupting out of the spout. Wigglytuff perked up immediately. “Oh, the cider’s done!” He walked over to some overhead cabinets and pulled out an almost comically large teacup. He put them both on the table before going back for the kettle.

“Want some?” He asked as he carried the kettle over.

“No thanks,” she said. As good as that sounded, she knew she couldn’t. The sheer thought of trying to drink from a tiny little teacup in front of the Guildmaster made her nauseous. 

“Alright,” he said, pouring the cider slowly. The steam wafted upward as the drink entered the cup. “I guess I’ll just have more for later. Unless Jeremiah catches me. Apparently he says it’s ‘not healthy to be drinking that much cider.’” He took a sip from his own teacup and recoiled slightly. “It’s still pretty hot, though.”

She laughed, though somewhere between a polite laugh and a restrained chuckle. 

He set the kettle down on a cloth coaster, which was already on the table. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Right. She wasn’t here to chit chat. She cleared her throat. “Uh, it’s about the Time Gear Thief…”

“Yes?” He took another sip, and immediately put the cup back down. “Still hot,” he muttered to himself.

“I… I want to help catch them.”

He blinked. “Really? I mean, you’re not alone with that, but you didn’t exactly seem like the type to.”

“I know, I just…” Should she tell him about her destiny? He certainly seemed trustworthy. No, she shouldn’t. It’d be just selfish to dump her problems on his plate. “I kind of feel bad that I’m not doing anything about this whole thing.” 

He nodded. “Well, you stopped by at a good time. There’s actually an exploration party leaving for the Sand Continent on the 3rd. I normally wouldn’t allow apprentices on trans-continent trips on such short notice, but considering the situation, I can make a few exceptions.

“A couple of volunteering teams are going to fly out to Sahara Town and explore nearby dungeons to look for the next Time Gear. That way, we can set up a trap for the Thief instead of just chasing them around.”

“Oh, that’s smart,” she remarked. 

“Of course, this will only work if we have a lot of volunteers, but at least we’re not the only guild that’s doing this. Even if it means a metric ton of paperwork.”

He took a third sip, and had roughly the same reaction as the first two sips.“And this really works out because it could help you and Rylan get closer as teammates.”

Oh god no, he did notice her solo ventures after all. “Actually, I was thinking about going alone.”

“Nonsense! I don’t want him missing an opportunity like this.”

“I…” She trailed off. She really didn’t have a choice, did she? “Yeah, I’ll tell him.”

“Great.” He paused, before rising from the table. The teacup rattled as he pushed his chair out. He walked over to a table on the far left, grabbing a fancy quill and piece of paper off a large stack before sitting back down. “Okay, what’s your team name again?” 

“It’s Team Omega.”

He scribbled down the name in a loose but fancy script. “Alright, you’re all set. Make sure to meet up in the Town Square no later than 7:00 am this Friday.” He put the quill down. “Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?”

“Not really, no.” As friendly as he seemed, he was still a superior. And personally, she’d rather leave before she did something to embarrass herself. Or he punished her for something. Or he started asking about Rylan. Maybe even a combination of the three.

“Alright, well, thanks for stopping by. I’d escort you back upstairs, but… you know…” He motioned to the mountain of papers on the far desk. 

“Right, uh, I guess I’ll see you… around?”

“Yeah,” he said, holding his teacup in both hands. “Have a nice rest of your day.”

“I’ll try.”

Not another word was exchanged between them. She scurried up the stairs, relief washing over her. Thank god that went well. But as she stepped back into the main room, she realized something. 

_Wait, crap, what am I going to do for the rest of the day?_

She’d spend so much time hyping herself up for this, she didn’t take into account that it would take like 5 minutes. And now she had a giant empty spot in her day. Maybe she had enough time to grab a quest real quick? Or should she prepare for the upcoming expedition?

Something caught her paw and she nearly fell. Instinctively, she looked around, checking just who she made a fool of herself in front of. Even though the lobby was full, only a few heads by the window were turned to her. But it was more than enough for her to drop her ears and scurry off to her room in shame. 

Fortunately she made it back to her room without any more mishaps. Sighing in relief, she quietly closed the door behind her. The room looked exactly the same as she had left it. Messy bed, opened and unorganized chest, bag on the floor.

No Rylan. 

That moment in the training room played again in her memory. How she yelled at him. How she threatened to disband them. How willingly he accepted it. 

Why didn’t she feel worse about this? A good thing was destroyed and it was entirely her fault. To think she was actually making progress with him, and she had to throw it all away. 

She should have just not brought it up. She should have just left him alone. But no amount of wishing could undo this mistake. It was her fault, her fault, her fault, her fault.

And now she was dragging him out to the goddamn Sand Continent because she was too much of a coward to stand up for herself. Oh boy, if he didn’t hate her already, he would now. 

A few tears fell down her face as total despair consumed her. About time. She more than deserved to feel this pain. Honestly, she should have been crying like a little bitch about this ages ago. Why did she think for a second things were fine? Things weren't fine. Things were never fine. Because she had no one she could vent to, no one she should vent to. No one. She was alone. 

No. She shouldn’t be complaining about this. She needed to be alone. It was her destiny after all. Friends would just distract her. No matter how badly she wanted them.

She was sobbing now. And doing everything in her power to keep it quiet. No one can hear this. Don’t get anyone else involved. Don’t let anyone know your pain. You’re not worth their time. Your problems aren’t worth their time. 

A small part of her wanted someone to come in and see her like this. She wanted someone to tell her everything was going to be okay, that she wasn’t alone. 

But nobody came. She was alone, with no comfort, and no way out.

Just like she deserved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, now I kind of want some cider


End file.
